Trouble With A Capital T
by phoenixnz
Summary: Clark Luthor and Lois Lane cross swords when they are both working on the same story, for rival newspapers. Can they work past their differences to solve the mystery?
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, hey, up and at 'em. This is Crazy Will and you're listening to KRAZ FM. That's me, Kerrrazeee. It's 7.30 in the am and time to shake a leg, hit the shower and head on out in that Monday morning traffic. We got a live one here today folks."

Clark groaned and hit the snooze button on his radio alarm clock, accidentally crushing it. Great, he thought, yawning and stretching. Another one he'd have to replace.

He yawned again and opened his eyes. There was a lump underneath the silk sheet, slowly moving up toward him. As he stretched lazily, the sheet was pulled back to reveal a head full of curly dark brown hair and a cheeky grin.

The girl straddled him, leaning down for a kiss. Clark tried not to grimace at the morning breath which was rank with too much coffee and nicotine. He hated smoking, but from what the girl had told him, many of the models she worked with smoked because they believed it helped keep their weight down.

He pushed her away, none too gently, and got out of bed.

"Aw, but Susie wants to play," she said, clearly pouting. "Don't you want to play?"

"I don't have time," he said. "I'm going to be late for work."

He should have been at work by now, he thought. His father might have owned the company, but Lionel had always expected his sons to lead by example. That meant an early start.

He groaned quietly as Susie wrapped herself around him, clearly begging him to come back to bed. He tried to think of a polite way of telling her he was no longer interested but everything he thought of just sounded obnoxious. He might be a Luthor, his father had often told him, but he was still expected to show at least a modicum of decorum. Which, in more vernacular terms, meant don't piss off potential contacts.

Fortunately, he didn't have to think of anything. His phone rang and he glanced at the caller id. Any other time he would have been annoyed at the caller, but this time it was welcome. He put on his black horn-rimmed glasses as he picked up the phone.

"Luthor, you better have a good excuse for not being at your desk this morning!" Perry raged.

"Uh, sorry, chief, I overslept."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what they call it in an alternate universe. You better get your ass in here within the next twenty minutes or you're fired. I don't care if your old man owned the company, you hear me? Great Caesar's Ghost!"

The phone on the other end was hung up abruptly, leaving Clark to face Susie.

"Sorry kitten," he said, inwardly cringing. "That was my boss. I'm on deadline and if I don't make it within twenty minutes my ass is grass. Look, you can hang out here for a bit. Take a shower, hell, take a dip in the hot tub if you want. Just lock up when you leave."

"You gonna call me?" she asked.

He smirked and kissed her cheek.

"Of course," he lied. He wouldn't and he knew she knew that.

Clark showered and dressed quickly in a blue silk shirt which brought out the blue in his eyes and dark wool pants. He left the apartment, making sure no one was around before he launched himself into the air and flew to the huge skyscraper which looked over the entire city of Metropolis. He landed on the roof, glancing up briefly at the huge spinning globe, scowling at the banner proclaiming it a Luthorcorp Media property. It had been typical of Lionel, he thought, to declare to all and sundry that he controlled the message. Nothing had changed in the four years since his death.

Making sure no one saw him coming down from the roof, he ran down the stairs to his office. He'd just managed to log-in when his assistant entered.

"Claire?"

The blonde shook her head at him.

"I don't know how you always manage to slip by me but don't think you had me fooled for a second, Mr Luthor. I'm well aware you only just got in."

There was no point in even trying to pretend that wasn't the case. Claire apparently had eyes in the back of her head, not to mention some kind of telepathic ability so she always knew when he was lying.

"Uh, so what's on my agenda for today?"

"Your deadline for your column is due in about half an hour. You better have something. Perry's on the warpath and you know what he's like."

"Yeah, it's never pretty." He waved his hand at her. "Don't worry. I've got something. I was working on it all weekend."

"Really?" she said sceptically. "That's not what I heard."

"Oh? What exactly did you hear?"

"That you were wining and dining the cover girl of this month's Maxim. All weekend. I'm guessing you slept with her too."

Clark caught the note of disapproval in her tone.

"Claire, my personal life ..."

"...is none of my business. I get that, but you're not the only one facing the wrath of Perry White when your copy isn't in by deadline. As your assistant, and your friend, I'm telling you. Just because your father owned half this city does not give you the right to act like you can do anything you want and get away with it. Sooner or later, it will come back to haunt you, and I just hope I'm there to see it."

"Okay, Claire, you've made your point. But, look, don't worry about Perry. I can handle him."

"I sure hope so, Clark, because I have bills to pay."

Clark watched her leave, sighing. Perry had hired Claire because she was not only efficient, but she was also probably the only person who would stand up to Clark and not take any of his bull.

He sat back, steepling his fingers as he thought about his column. When he'd graduated college, Lionel had tried to install him as publisher of the Daily Planet, but his father had been nothing if not shrewd, realising it would have been a bad move, PR-wise. Instead, he'd offered Clark the chance to write as a columnist in the op-ed section of the daily paper. There were still accusations of nepotism, but Clark had at least managed to earn the respect of his peers in the past three years.

Usually, once he had a subject in mind, Clark could whip up a column in less than a minute, but a weekend of partying with the Maxim models had left little time for him to even contemplate writing something.

He glanced at the clock, realising he'd wasted a whole ten minutes staring into space. It reminded him a little of the exams he had had to sit through years at Excelsior Academy and four years of college. He'd often just sat there doodling, waiting until the last minute to complete the exam.

Stuck for ideas, Clark began searching the net to see if anything grabbed his attention. An article on the front page of the Metropolis Star seemed like it had potential. A story about a kid who had gone on a shooting spree through his high school, killing a teacher and four kids. The article was written by a woman named Lois Lane. Clark had never met her, but knew of her through his friend Oliver Queen, who had dated her in Star City. Lane had worked for the Star City Sentinel briefly, after a couple of years writing for the army rag.

The article stuck to the facts, quoting psychologists and forensic investigators speculating on the reasons for the rampage. It was a common theme. Under-privileged teen, incidents of bullying, alienation. Clark could relate.

He recalled a similar incident had happened about a year ago. In fact, he thought, he'd done a column on the incident. He glanced once again at the clock and saw he had less than five minutes. He supposed he could have whipped up another column, but figured Perry wouldn't notice if he used an old column, as long as he changed a few things.

He had it ready with a minute to go to deadline and sent it through to Perry's computer. Smugly satisfied that he'd managed to meet his deadline and yet not do any real work, Clark decided to celebrate his minor victory with a cup of Joe. He went out, winking at Claire, who was on the phone, and walked down the stairs as if he didn't have a care in the world.

As he passed the Luthorcorp building, he heard his name called. Clark looked around, then grinned.

"Lex," he said, watching as his brother stepped onto the sidewalk from the limo.

"Hey Clark."

"I thought you were in Singapore 'til tomorrow?" he asked.

"I managed to conclude my business early. I tried to call you on the weekend but only got your message service."

"Oh yeah, I was, uh ..."

"Partying with the girls from Maxim. I heard." He smirked. "So how were they?"

Clark shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

Lex frowned. "Okay, you guess? That doesn't sound like you."

"I dunno. I mean, they're hot but ..."

"Not exactly the intellectual type?" Lex finished.

He nodded. He'd tried to have a conversation with Susie, from books to politics, but she had told him straight out she didn't read and she never followed politics. Hell, even a supposedly safe topic like movies hadn't exactly been high on her list of subjects. The only thing the girl really had talked about was the various weights of her fellow models and how she was always dieting.

"So, uh, what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

"I just wondered if you were going to the fundraiser tonight at the Ace of Clubs."

Clark wasn't in the mood for a fundraiser.

"I thought I'd just skip it."

"You can't skip it, Clark. It's a fundraiser for the preservation of the rainforest. You know how militant the greenies can be."

"If you hate them so much, why are you so bent on me going?"

"What did Dad teach us?"

"Anything that makes us look good is good for business." Clark rolled his eyes at his brother. "Fine," he said with a heavy sigh. "I'll go."

"Good. Why don't you call up one of your Maxim models and get her to go with you. It'll be good PR for the magazine."

Clark made a face, but figured since he was stuck with going to this thing, he might just as well call up Susie. It wouldn't be a good look if he went dateless.

He returned to work, having bought coffee at his favourite cafe and found Claire looking shaken. Her face was pale. She looked up at him.

"You better get up to Perry's office," she said. "You've really done it this time."

Clark sighed and left his coffee on his desk, figuring he could re-heat it later, then took the stairs two at a time to the fifteenth floor. Perry's secretary stared at him, then held up a hand, telling him to wait.

Clark didn't need his super-hearing to realise that Perry was having a full-on shouting match with someone on the phone.

"I don't care! I don't have to sit here and take crap from some snot-nosed rich kid trying to pull one over on me. Now, you tell him ... No, you listen to me, goddamnit! Great Caesar's Ghost."

Even Perry's secretary winced at the crash of what was clearly the phone being slammed back in its cradle. The door was flung open and the sandy-haired man looked out, his face almost the colour of puce.

"Luthor! Get your ass in here!"

Biting his lip, Clark followed his editor-in-chief into the office, wincing as the door slammed behind him. He stood in front of the glass topped desk, wondering what the hell he'd done now.

Perry picked up a couple of pages and flung it at him.

"You think I was born yesterday?" he raged.

Clark looked down. It was his column. Oh crap, he thought.

"Uh, chief ..."

"Don't! I don't want to hear your excuses! If it wasn't for your brother you can bet I would have you out on your ass so fast your head would spin. I have a good memory, Luthor, and I remember you using this exact column a year ago. Don't think for a second you can pull one over on me and plagiarise another column. Even if it is your own. Maybe I can't fire you, but I can sure as hell suspend you."

Clark stared at him, gobsmacked. It wasn't about the column, or even the fact that Perry was practically in an apoplectic rage. Perry White had always had a temper, so that came as no surprise. It was the fact that his boss had wanted to fire him, over one little column.

He'd always thought he'd got along reasonably well with Perry. The first year he'd worked at the Planet, they'd had their ups and downs, but he thought he'd at least managed to earn a grudging respect from the older man.

He held up his hands as his raging editor took a breath.

"Okay, I admit, I shouldn't have done it, but I ran out of time."

"I don't want to hear it! You're on suspension, Luthor. Rest of the week. Without pay!"

Damn, he was an idiot. He really shouldn't have been so lazy, he thought.

He trudged slowly down to his office and grabbed his cellphone, throwing out his now stone-cold coffee. Claire looked at him as he passed.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's not your fault," he said. "I shouldn't have risked it."

She got up and hugged him briefly. "Look, Perry will calm down. Eventually."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just gonna, you know, go home."

However, instead of going back to his apartment, Clark decided to take a walk through the park, mentally berating himself for being so stupid. He'd thought Perry wouldn't have spotted it, but he was wrong. What had Lex always told him when they'd been growing up? Don't take shortcuts.

Clark might have super-human powers, but his big brother had always told him that he shouldn't take them for granted and use them arbitrarily. There was a time and place for them. Clark had taken that on board and used the same principles in everything else. That just because something came easily to him, didn't mean he should act like the world should be handed to him on a silver platter.

He called Susie later that day but she told him she already had plans. She seemed surprised at his call, but recommended another of the girls who would be only too willing to escort him to the fundraiser. He promised to pick the girl up at the hotel.

Three hours later, he arrived at the Ace of Clubs, wearing a tuxedo with a bowtie that made him want to choke, a pretty girl on his arm. Madeline wasn't as vapid as Susie but she still chattered on about inconsequential things like they were the be-all and end-all. Clark was already bored, but still smiled as if she was the smartest, prettiest girl in the room.

He ignored the flash of cameras and took a couple of glasses of champagne from the bar, handing one to his date as he pretended to be interested in the promotional material placed strategically around the room. The tickets to the fundraiser had been expensive. Twenty thousand a head was a lot of money, but since he had inherited a quarter share of Luthorcorp, the amount he'd paid for the two tickets was nothing compared to the money he and Lex used to drop on luxury cars when they were teenagers.

Clark continued to look around the room, only half-listening to Madeline as she gushed. The blonde model finished her champagne and went to grab another glass. Clark had only drunk a third of his, but quickly drank the rest, asking her to get him one as well. As she went off, he spotted a familiar face and grinned.

"Ollie!"

The tall blonde man grinned back and shook his hand.

"Hey. Heard you were here."

"Yeah. I had thoughts of skipping it, but Lex kind of made me."

Oliver's eyes did an odd sort of dance but he said nothing. Oliver Queen was Clark's closest friend, but he and Lex had never really got along that well. It had something to do with an incident when Lex was sixteen. Clark had only been nine and had been pretty much sequestered with the other boys in his grade so he didn't get to hang out with the 'big boys' as such.

Lex had managed to get early admission to college and had graduated Excelsior at the end of his junior year, while Clark had still been stuck at the school, frustrated at being made to stay back when he could easily have gone up a few grades. Lionel claimed it was a test of his patience.

Clark had got to know Oliver during his older friend's senior year at the school. His friend had never really talked about the incident with his brother, but Clark had always sensed it was something that haunted him.

Madeline returned, clearly having gone out to the balcony to smoke, as the bitter odour of cigarettes hung about her. She had sprayed on some perfume, but it had mixed with the smoke rather than disguised it.

"Well, Clark Luthor. With a girl he doesn't have to inflate."

Clark looked at the woman who had spoken, pushing his glasses up with his forefinger, even knowing it was a clear sign of nervousness. He fought to keep his expression neutral but he was taken aback by the incredible beauty before him. She was dressed in a long black sleeveless gown, the low neckline giving an impressive view of cleavage which was sexy yet tasteful. The long skirt would have been tight except for the split which stopped mid-thigh, allowing a glimpse of slender, long legs. His mouth was dry as he took in the slender neck adorned by a simple string of pearls and framed by thick, dark brown hair pulled up into an elegant knot.

Her hazel eyes were twinkling merrily and he realised she had caught him checking her out. She sent him a sly grin. Oliver glanced at his date, then smirked at Clark.

"Clark, this is my date. Lois Lane."

So that was Lois Lane, he thought. He'd seen a photograph in the paper above her byline, but it definitely didn't do her justice.

"I've heard a lot about you," he said.

"Yeah, me too," she returned.

Clark grasped the elbow of the model beside him. "Uh, this is ..." For a moment her name escaped him.

"Madeline," she said, staring appreciatively at Oliver.

Lois continued to smirk at him, while he glared back at her.

"I'm gonna get some champagne," Oliver said, sounding a little uncomfortable.

Madeline was drawn away by some guy Clark didn't recognise and couldn't have cared less about, leaving him to stare in silence at the beautiful woman standing in front of him.

"I, uh, read your story this morning," he said, wondering why he was stammering. He was usually so cool about these things.

"Really? I suppose I should be flattered that you actually read my work. I heard something interesting about you this morning. Heard your head was on the chopping block. Over a little matter of plagiarism?"

He glared at her, wondering how she had heard all about that. It must be all over the Planet by now, in that case, he thought.

"I have my sources," she claimed loftily, making him pause, wondering if he'd said any of that out loud. "Of course, it helps when your sister is dating a Daily Planet photographer."

Humiliation burned his cheeks. Okay, so he'd slipped up. There was no need to tell the whole world about it. What made it worse, he supposed, was that his family actually owned the paper.

"Unlike some, I suppose, who actually have to sleep with their editors to get ahead."

Lois' eyebrows shot up and she slapped him hard across the cheek. He quickly turned his head and put a hand to his cheek, pretending he had felt the slap. It had been a low blow and he knew that, but he had heard that Lois had had a brief relationship with her editor. The timing had been poor, but he was sure she had more integrity than that.

Oliver appeared at her side before Lois could make a biting remark.

"Come on, Lois, before you say something you might regret."

Clark sent his friend an apologetic look, then turned away to find his date. He saw her talking to a tall, dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes.

"I'm a little surprised to see you here," he told the other man.

"Well, it is a fundraiser. Not to mention a good PR exercise."

"Sure. Anything for publicity, right Bruce?"

The two men shared a conspiratorial grin. Madeline sighed heavily and went off in search of someone else interesting to talk to.

"I caught the tail end of your little exchange with Lois Lane. That was rather uncalled for, don't you think?"

Clark sighed. "Yeah, I know. She just ..."

"Got to you. I have to say it, Clark, I've never seen you so rattled over a woman before."

"I'm not rattled."

"Deny it all you want, my friend, but don't forget I know you. I know when you're rattled."

They chatted for a while, ignoring the people around them who were clearly trying to get the attention of two of the most eligible bachelors in the country. Clark saw Lois leaving about an hour later, without Oliver, who was approaching them with an urgent look on his face.

"What is it?" Bruce asked.

"We gotta go. There's been a train wreck just outside of Metropolis. Lois just got a call about it."

"Anyone hurt?"

"Yeah, a few fatalities." He took out his android phone and showed them what was on screen. "I just got the lowdown from Watchtower."

Bruce nodded. "Let's go."

Clark quickly located his date and made his excuses, telling her the limo would take her back to the hotel. She didn't seem all that surprised he was ditching her and turned back to the man she was chatting with.

He followed his friends out, waiting as Bruce made his way to the limo, greeting Alfred with a smile.

"Master Clark. Master Oliver."

"Hey Alfred," Oliver returned.

"I can fly you to Watchtower," Clark offered, but Oliver shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Got my gear stashed in the car."

"You can change in the limo," Bruce told him. "Alfred ..."

"Of course, Master Bruce. Master Clark?"

"I'll meet you there," he said.

Within a few minutes, Clark arrived at the location. The train wreck wasn't so much a wreck as a disaster. The train had come off the tracks and was lying on its side. Some of the carriages had smashed in the wreck. He quickly set to work helping emergency workers pull out injured passengers.

Batman and Green Arrow arrived shortly after, also helping the rescue workers. Clark left them to it as he made his way toward the worst of it.

"Superman, we've been through there," one of the workers told him. "We didn't find any survivors."

"I'd like to check. Just to be sure."

He x-rayed the carriage. From what he could see, it was clear of bodies. Except ... As he continued checking, his vision picked up a small skeleton under what looked like one of the sleeper bunks. He lowered himself down through the smashed doorway and picked his way carefully through the debris. There were broken seats and bunks scattered throughout, but the one on the end seemed mostly intact.

Clark pulled the bunk carefully away from the wall. A little girl, aged about four years old, had obviously been sleeping in the bed before the crash. There was a gash on her head and it appeared she had a broken arm. As he began to carry her out, she whimpered, turning her head to look at him, her eyes huge.

"It's all right," he told her. "I'm going to get you some help."

"Mommy?" she wailed softly.

"We'll find your mommy. Hang on, sweetheart."

Clark knew there was no way he could pick his way out of the debris to get back to the door without hurting the little girl further. If she had still been unconscious, he probably could have, but decided the quickest way out would be to fly through the smashed window.

The worker who had spoken to him before looked startled as he brought out the girl.

"She's in shock and her arm is broken," he told the man. "She's conscious."

"We probably never would have found her in time," the worker told him, a stunned expression on his face. "Thanks Superman."

The recovery took most of the night with Batman and Green Arrow helping to keep the survivors calm. Clark spotted Lois walking around the scene, talking to officers and trying to get his attention. A couple of times she'd tried asking him questions, but he'd quietly told her he was busy and would talk to her when he was able.

Several hours later, he made his way over to the crowd of assembled journalists. They all clamoured for a quote.

"Superman, Superman, can you tell us how this happened?"

"That is up to the investigators," he told them. He might be Superman, but his job was helping with recovery, not determining the cause of an accident, tragic though it might be.

"Superman," Lois began quietly, "I understand you saved a little girl tonight."

"Yes, Miss Lane, I did."

She looked thrilled that he knew her name, breaking out in a grin.

"Well, I thought you should know the little girl is going to be fine. I spoke to the hospital and they found her mom."

"I am very glad to hear that, Miss Lane."

"It must be gratifying to you, to save a young child."

"As it is devastating that there were so many others I couldn't save," he told her. "But I did not work alone. Batman, Green Arrow and all the rescue workers deserve as much credit, if not more than I. Please excuse me, Miss Lane. It has been a long night and I'm sure all the workers are exhausted and need to get some rest."

Batman and Green Arrow appeared at his side, laying supporting hands on his shoulders. He looked at his friends, then around at the wreckage. So many people had died, but so many had been saved as well. Just what had happened here?

Clark returned home to shower and found a message on his cellphone.

Call me. Lex.

Hair still dripping wet, a towel wrapped around his waist, he called his brother.

"Hell of a job you guys did," Lex commented. "But that's not what I was calling about. I heard about your suspension. I'm going to fix it."

"Lex, you don't have to do that. Perry was right. It was stupid and lazy ..."

"Nevertheless, Luthorcorp owns the Daily Planet and he can't just fire you. I have a meeting with him this morning and I want you there."

He sighed. "What time?"

"Nine thirty. Should be enough time for you to grab a couple hours' sleep."

"I don't need to sleep. You know that."

"Yeah, I know, but get some anyway. I'll see you at the Planet."

At nine-thirty on the dot, Clark entered the outer office of the editor-in-chief. Janet said nothing and just waved him in. Lex was already sitting in front of Perry's desk.

"Don't think you can bully me into reinstating him. Clark," Perry said shortly.

"Perry, you are going to reinstate Clark, with a full apology, or you'll find you'll be the one on the unemployment line."

"Lex," Clark said. "Don't."

"Clark, I'm merely ..."

"Lex, you don't have to threaten Perry, especially when I'm the one in the wrong."

"You're being a fool, Clark."

"No, I'm not." He handed Perry three pages of a story he'd written up. The editor looked surprised, but began to read.

"You got direct quotes from Superman?" he asked in surprise.

Clark nodded. "Yes sir." Of course, Perry didn't need to know that he was Superman. Or that his two best friends were Batman and Green Arrow.

"I take it you haven't seen the Star this morning? The story's all over it."

"I have sir, but I think my story gives a different perspective. Chief, I know I screwed up yesterday, and I will understand if you still want to suspend me, but I'm asking for a chance to prove myself."

Perry looked down at the papers in his hands, chewing on his lip.

"All right, kid. You get one chance. I want you all over this story. I can pull Troupe off it and change the assignments."

Clark held in his jubilation. Troupe was an ass, but he was a halfway decent reporter. Yet something about the events of the night before had got to him.

Lex smirked as they left the office.

"Saved your ass again, Clark," he said.

Clark glanced at his brother. It was more like he'd saved his own ass, but whatever.


	2. Chapter 2

Lois logged on to her computer and sat down at her desk, staring at the screen. The train wreck had been devastating and she had admired the rescue workers as they struggled all night to help the wounded as well as recover the bodies of the dead. She had especially admired Superman, whose uniform really left nothing to the imagination. Those broad shoulders, that muscular chest, the strong thighs. What wouldn't she give to feel that body ...

She gave herself a mental shake, trying to get rid of the image which suddenly came to mind of a naked Superman, just stepped out of the shower, his golden skin glistening, droplets of water dripping from his ...

"Argh!" she said out loud, then looked around hastily, hoping no one in the office had heard her. It wouldn't do to be caught daydreaming about Superman.

Unlike the Daily Planet, where she still harboured desires of being on staff as an investigative reporter, the Metropolis Star was a much smaller operation with about ten full-time reporters and a couple of freelancers, compared to the other paper's much larger pool of specialist reporters and contractors.

Of course, she thought, working at the Daily Planet would mean she would occasionally come into contact with none other than Clark Luthor. She rolled her eyes at that. Luthor was a columnist and she sincerely doubted he actually did his own work. He probably had that assistant of his write it all up for him and he took the credit.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't totally fair. She didn't really know Luthor, except by reputation, but what she had heard from Jimmy Olsen, via Lucy, of course, was that everyone thought Luthor was a lazy, spoiled rich brat who had only got the job because his family owned the paper. As far as Lois was concerned, that was a clear-cut case of nepotism.

Meeting him the night before had been a surprise. She'd seen his photograph over his column, but the picture had clearly been taken by an amateur as it had been almost grainy; definitely not showing Luthor at his best. She had to admit, despite the fugly glasses he wore, he was very striking. Wavy, black hair, gorgeous green eyes and high cheekbones. Not to mention so tall she almost had to stretch on tiptoe just to be at his level.

His parting shot had been rather harsh but despite the way she had slapped him, Lois had a feeling he hadn't meant to say what he had. He'd seemed almost as surprised as she was by the comment. It was funny. She had never really seen a man react that way to her before and Luthor had been clearly rattled.

Lois sighed. She really needed to focus on the story. As she started to take out her notes, a paper was dropped on her desk. It was the second edition of the Daily Planet.

"What?" she said, staring at the headline, then unfolding the paper to read the story.

Luthor had somehow managed to get an exclusive interview with not only Superman, but also Green Arrow and Batman.

"That bastard!" she growled.

"Looks like you've been scooped, Lane." She looked up and scowled at her boss, Reginald. "So much for you and Superman being best buds."

"I never said that," she replied, frowning. Okay, she might have played up the relationship a little. After all, she was the one who had named him Superman after 'outing' him to the world. She figured he at least owed her an interview or three.

"Right," she said, picking up her notes. "This means war."

She began flipping through her Rolodex and started dialling numbers.

"Mac, it's Lane."

"Don't got nothing for ya," he said.

"You have to know something."

"Look, Peaches, you know I would totally be on top of this, but I got nothin'."

"Mac, you work the yards. If this was an accident ... don't make me pull out the big guns, Mac."

Sighing, the man agreed to a meeting in an hour. Lois glanced at the clock, figuring it gave her just enough time to get what she needed before she had to turn in a story for the late edition of the paper.

She spent the next hour talking to one of her contacts at the 14th precinct.

"Look, all I can tell you is, they're investigating. It's gonna be weeks before they can sift through the wreckage and figure out the cause."

"Do you think it was mechanical failure or something else?"

"C'mon, Lane, how dumb do you think I am? I'm not going to tell you."

"But what about witness reports?" she asked.

"Forget it, Lane. My lips are zipped."

"Yeah, thanks for nothing Frankie. You better have your game on Friday night 'cause you are going down."

"You better be talking about the poker game, Lane."

"What other game is there?" she chuckled.

He growled, mumbling something she clearly wasn't supposed to hear. She continued to laugh as she hung up. Frankie was a good guy, although not boyfriend material. He had asked her out several times and she'd turned him down each time.

She left the office in time to meet with Mac, an old-timer who had been working around the railyards for as long as she could remember. Lois had run away from home once when she was eight and the old man had found her, keeping her safe until the general had arrived. He'd called her Peaches n Cream because of her complexion.

"Mac ..." she said, approaching the man at their favourite coffee cart.

Mac was probably in his seventies now, his chocolate brown skin wrinkled, his short wiry hair almost a silvery grey.

"Look, maybe this is somethin', maybe it's nothin' but last night they brought in one of the mechanics. Watched the whole thing. He looked kinda upset."

"Any idea who?"

"Yeah. His name's Lee Carmichael."

Mac told her he'd been hearing rumours since early that morning that Carmichael's competence was being brought into question. When Lois asked why, the old man clammed up, but he had at least given her enough of a lead to continue chasing.

She managed to get her story in just on deadline, the headline in bold type spread across the top of the front page.

**Train Worker Under Investigation.**

She was incensed a couple of days later when the Daily Planet countered with something which suggested she had jumped the gun and pointed fingers at the wrong man. Growling, Lois decided to check out the train yard where the wreckage had been taken so that investigators could examine it. She was surprised to see Luthor poking around.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

He looked up and scowled at her.

"Same thing as you, presumably."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Why don't you just step aside and let the real professionals do their job?"

"I am a professional," he said snottily.

She snorted at him. "You're a glorified gossip columnist. The only reason you even got the job was because Daddy made them give it to you. The way I hear it, after what happened the other day, big brother had to step in to save your ass."

She'd heard all about Lex threatening to fire Perry if he didn't reinstate Clark. There wasn't much that went on at the Daily Planet that she didn't know about. Jimmy was proving to be a good little spy.

"For your information, Lane, I didn't need Lex to save my ass. I got the story on my own initiative and Perry assigned me to keep pursuing it. So you can take your insinuations and shove them where the sun don't shine!"

Eep, she thought. She'd really pissed him off. Feeling herself burning with shame, she figured she better save face.

"I'm sorry. You're right. That was uncalled for."

"Thank you," he said, sounding almost gracious.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked.

He ignored her, looking down at the wreckage as if searching for something. Lois began following behind him as he walked along. They'd left some of the broken parts in small piles across the yard as well as the smashed carriages.

She could see him glancing behind at her as if uncomfortable with her presence. Too bad, she thought. She had a story to pursue as much as him.

She continued to trail along behind him as he peered at the wreckage.

"Just what are you looking for?" she asked.

He turned and glowered at her. "Why, Lane? Looking to try and scoop me?"

"There is no try, Skywalker. I can outscoop you at fifty paces."

He rolled his eyes. "Typical!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What I hear, you can't spell to save your life! It's no surprise you'd mangle a few clichés while you're at it."

"Why you ..." she began, then chewed on her lip. "You're just jealous."

He looked at her incredulously.

"Jealous?"

She nodded. "Unlike you, I'm actually a real reporter! Not a glorified copyboy ... person!"

He smirked. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Lane."

"Ahh c'mon. You really trying to tell me that what you write has anything to do with news? All you do is regurgitate somebody else's."

"Oh, and the scandal behind the Smallville bake-off is Pulitzer material?" he snorted.

She stared at him. "What?"

"Have to admit, Lane, it was ballsy, entering the competition under an assumed name just so you could prove that it was all a scam." He wrinkled his nose. "You were so close too. Close to giving the judges food poisoning, that is."

"Food p ..." She faced him, hands on her hips, her expression indignant. "I can cook, you know."

"Oh yeah, a pumpkin pie with the crust so hard it would take a sledgehammer to break it open!"

Lois glared at him, trying to keep from whooping out loud. He reads my work. He actually reads my work! she crowed inside.

"Don't get too excited, Lane. Your paper makes a great liner."

"Oh, don't tell me you're one of those people."

"What's those people?"

"You know, you have a cat, or one of those pocket poodles, or something."

"Pocket ... No," he told her. "For one thing, I actually have a life. Second, it's for my pet snake. I just got her. She's a boa constrictor. Her name's Lois." His eyes widened and he looked at her mockingly. "Oh, wait, that's your name. Oh, well, guess it fits."

"What exactly are you trying to imply, Luthor?"

"Me? Nothing at all," he said, turning away from her with a finality in his manner.

Lois growled under her breath and went back to watching him as he meandered along the rows of debris. He still looked annoyed that she was there, but after a while it seemed as if he forgot she was there. He put a hand on the frame of his glasses and pulled them down his nose slightly, peering down at something, squinting his eyes.

"Do you have an astigmatism or something?" she asked.

He looked up, startled.

"Why are you still here?"

"Maybe I was enjoying the show," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, you want entertainment, Lane, why don't you go check out the Windgate? I hear they're having ladies night tonight."

"That dive?" she snorted. "I'd rather be dead."

"One can only hope," he said, not quite under his breath. He paused in his search and looked up at her. "I seem to remember you going undercover as a stripper and nearly getting yourself sold off in a white slavery ring. How'd that work out for you?"

"Got myself a commendation from the mayor himself," she told him.

"This same mayor who just a year later was caught double dipping? Yeah, I'm sure that counts."

"You're an ass, Luthor."

He smirked at her. "You know, there's something about you Lane."

She grinned back. "Irritating, aren't I?"

"Truth is, you make me itch," he said, demonstrating by scratching at a spot on his shoulder.

"Then I suggest you get yourself some calamine lotion, Luthor, 'cause I'm going nowhere."

Clark snorted, pausing to cock his head, then turned abruptly away, walking toward the entry to the yard. A voice yelled.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Oops, Lois thought. Clearly the security wasn't that good since they'd been standing inside the perimeter arguing for a good fifteen minutes before the guard found them. Clark glanced at her, then walked away without a word, leaving her to face the music alone.

Yeah, thanks a lot, she thought as the guard began to harangue her about being in a secure area. She tried to turn it around on the guard by berating him for his poor security. She was forced to accompany him to the office where the head investigator proceeded to yell at her for a good half hour, even though she hadn't exactly done anything except follow that good-for-nothing Luthor.

She was even more annoyed the next morning when she saw the Planet headline.

**Train Smash Caused by Sabotage.**

Interested in spite of her anger at the younger Luthor brother, she began reading the article. She had to admit that Luthor was a good writer. He was careful not to lay blame at any one particular party, but he'd clearly talked to a few sources who claimed it could be anything from a terrorist attack to a local dispute. While he didn't come out and say it, there was a hint of an implication of a cover-up from the train company itself.

Just how had he managed to get proof that the train was sabotaged when she was still getting hung up on by the company?

The answer was in the third paragraph. A direct quote from Superman saying he had seen what appeared to be the remains of an incendiary device amongst the debris. She frowned. When exactly had Superman inspected the wreckage?

Lois decided to counter with some speculation of her own, calling every expert on her contact list and kept up her harassment of the company directors. Finally one agreed to meet with her at the Metropolis Press Club which was hosting a fundraiser being run by none other than Lex Luthor. As much as she wanted to avoid Clark, she had been wanting to get an interview with Lex for months and this was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

She dressed carefully in a rich mahogany floor-length gown, since the event was formal, sweeping her hair up into a French knot, making sure her make-up was subtle and not over the top and her perfume was a delicate fragrance. She'd heard that Lex hated the way some women just about bathed in the stuff so that it was overpowering.

She wasn't surprised to see Oliver and Clark standing together talking, clearly checking out the potential. She'd met Oliver Queen years ago when he had come to Metropolis to offer his support to a state senator on a campaign of interest to Queen Industries. They'd dated for a few months and while he had definitely had boyfriend potential, the romance had fizzled out after he'd promised to take her away for a few days at an exclusive resort but then stood her up. She got that he was a busy man, but even billionaires, especially playboy billionaires, took time out to play.

Still, they had remained good friends. Good enough that she had finally learned what had been so important for him to stand her up. Well, it wasn't hard to notice when it was right in front of your face, she thought wryly. She was sure Oliver hadn't meant for his secret life as Green Arrow to be exposed, but she had never held it against him once he had explained the whole truth to her.

She hadn't known until the other night that he was also good friends with Clark Luthor. Not until they'd been introduced.

She had to admit she'd enjoyed the verbal chess game she'd played with Luthor at the yard. Despite their rocky first meeting, he'd given as good as he got. Not even Oliver, as intelligent as he was, could master the art of the witty comeback.

Not that she'd ever tell Luthor that, she told herself. She wouldn't want his head to swell.

Clark appeared at her side.

"Who are you trying to seduce?" he asked.

"Well, not you, that's for sure."

He was wearing a tuxedo which moulded to his body. Lois was sure if he'd been anyone else she would have been drooling over that fine figure of a man, wanting to run her hands all over his body beneath the clearly expensive suit. She could pretend for a just a few minutes that she actually liked this man, drag him to a secluded corner of the club and ... Stop it, she mentally berated herself.

Clark smirked at her.

"Yeah, you're not my type, Lane," he said.

She turned on him. "Really? I didn't know you had a type."

Well, he did have a reputation as something of a ladies man. She remembered those Maxim models he'd been out with last weekend. Seriously, did the guy really think being a spoiled rich brat make him so irresistible?

"Oh, I have a type. The opposite of you."

"Yeah, what is it? Tall, dark and stupid?" she countered.

He scowled and turned away, just as Lex came down the steps from the main office.

"Thank you all for coming. As you know, my mother was diagnosed with a heart condition at a young age and it plagued her until the very end. If the money raised tonight can help improve just one heart patient's quality of life then it has served its purpose. Again, thank you."

Lois waited as the bald billionaire turned to greet an older couple. She noticed Oliver watching with a scowl on his face, wondering what that was all about. With a little shrug, she decided it didn't matter. She wanted that interview and she could ignore any misgivings to get it.

"Lex Luthor!" she said loudly and clearly. He turned and frowned at her, before starting to turn away. "Lois Lane. Metropolis Star."

He looked her over, his gaze appreciative, then approached.

"Lois Lane."

"You haven't returned my calls," she said.

"Well, that's a mistake I won't make again," he smiled, lifting her hand to kiss it.

The band began playing a song she didn't recognise and Lex invited her to dance.

"I hope you'll forgive me for being so bold," she said.

He shook his head and smiled.

"Nonsense. I find boldness to be a very attractive trait in a woman. Especially a beautiful woman such as yourself."

"Thank you," she said, smiling at his compliment. "The truth is, I have been hoping to get an interview with you for months, but I seem to get blocked a lot."

"I do apologise, Lois," he said smoothly, "but I've had more than my fair share of bad experiences with the media."

"Is that why your father bought the Daily Planet?" she asked, chewing on her lip nervously as he glanced at her sharply.

"Well, my father always believed if you control the media, you control the message. This is starting to sound suspiciously like an interview."

"Well, not yet, but I hope you'll reconsider," she said.

"Perhaps if you tell me why I should choose you above all others ..."

Clark tapped on Lex's shoulder.

"May I cut in?" he asked.

Lex paused and looked at his younger brother, then shrugged before turning away. Lois scowled at the brunet, punching him in the shoulder.

"Oh, you idiot! I was so close!"

"What? This close?" he asked, pulling her in to his arms and dancing with her.

"Damn it, Luthor, you ruined a perfectly good opportunity."

"To do what? Look, Lex is my brother but you really don't want to mess with him. He's a shark and you're just a little fish he'd eat for breakfast."

"I can handle my own," she told him, miffed.

"Fine, Lane. Whatever. I'm just telling you what's what."

"Yeah, well I don't need advice from you. I didn't work my buns off to become an investigative reporter at the Metropolis Star just to get scared off by a corporate shark, or his spoiled brat of a brother."

He swept a hand over her butt cheek.

"Well, I have to admit, you do have quite lovely, uh, buns."

She growled and pulled away from him, only to bump into Oliver. He grabbed her arm.

"Clark's right. Stay away from Lex."

"Oh, not you too, Ollie. When will you learn that I can handle myself? You know, just because you two have issues, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm dealing with."

With that she walked away, looking for the train company director. He was sitting in a corner, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Look, Miss Lane," he said, when she introduced herself and sat down, "I really don't have much to tell you."

"The Daily Planet is speculating that it was deliberate sabotage," she said.

"This was a tragedy, to be sure, but as for the story in the Planet ... We haven't released any information suggesting it was sabotage."

"But Superman ..."

"Superman is a lot of things, Miss Lane, but he is not an expert."

"He wouldn't say it if he didn't believe it. Are you now telling me there was no incendiary device or are you just trying to cover up the fact that someone attacked this train?"

"There is no cover-up," he insisted.

"Yeah, what about Carmichael?"

"If you recall, Miss Lane, you yourself printed an article which was full of conjecture, pointing a finger at Carmichael without the full facts."

"My source saw what he saw," she said. "Besides, a lot of his co-workers did say he had a drug problem."

"One has nothing to do with the other."

"That may be so but my readers want to know the truth. Was it really sabotage or just gross incompetence? People died, sir."

"I'm aware of that, Miss Lane, and believe me, no one is sorrier than I am, but since our official investigation hasn't been completed yet I cannot comment on what, if anything, has been found. By Superman or anyone else. I don't know where Mr Luthor got his information," he added, clearly anticipating her next question, "but I will say that when I find out who his source is, trust me, heads will roll."

Dejected, Lois decided she wasn't going to get any more out of the man and got up to leave. She was once again stopped by Clark.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, smirking at her.

"I decided you're too much competition for me, Luthor and I'm gonna give up my reporting career to become a go-go dancer."

"Ha ha, no, really?"

"Yeah, in your dreams, Luthor."

Her phone rang and she looked at the caller id. It was a redirected call from her phone at the paper.

"Lois Lane?"

"Miss Lane? From the Metropolis Star?"

"Yeah, who is this?"

"My name's ... my name's Jeremy. I, uh, I found something. At the accident. See, me and my friends we were just, you know, joking around and we, uh, we stole some stuff."

Lois snorted to herself. The caller sounded not much older than about sixteen. She remembered seeing a group of youths hanging around the accident site and thought it was pretty low for them to have stolen from the accident victims. Still, if the kid had found something that could be a lead, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Okay, where are you," she said, tapping the address into her phone as soon as he gave her the location and brought it up on MapQuest. She hung up the call, turning to look at Luthor, only to find he was now flirting with a blonde who looked barely above legal.

Snorting, she grabbed her wrap from the coat room and left.


	3. Chapter 3

"Claire, get me all the names of the victims of that train wreck. Stat!"

Clark disappeared into his office, slamming the door, leaving his assistant gobsmacked. He didn't care. He'd already spent half the night trying to talk Bruce into using his detective skills, not to mention his considerable influence to see what he could come up with on the real cause of the accident, but Bruce wouldn't play ball. Honestly, the man might be one of his best friends, Clark thought, but he was also a pain in the ass when it came to sticking his neck out.

The other half of the night he'd spent thinking about the beautiful brunette he'd danced with. Not that he liked her or anything, he decided, even though she had spirit. He was more interested in trying to scoop her.

Claire entered his office, glowering at him.

"Just what is so all-fired important that you had to yell at me?"

If there was one thing he'd always admired about his assistant, other than the fact that she didn't take his crap, it was that she wasn't afraid to call him on it. Or call him a jackass, if the situation called for it.

"I need to interview the victims' families. Someone has to know why that train was sabotaged."

"That hasn't been proven yet," she reminded him.

"Superman found an incendiary device in the wreckage. Claire, just get me those records. Please?"

She smirked at him. "That's all I needed to hear," she said. "Oh, and your ex is on line two."

"Which one?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "You really need to ask?"

Clark groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Fine. I'll talk to her."

Claire went back out and he picked up his phone, pressing the button for line two.

"Well, it's about time."

"Lana ... what do you want?"

"Maybe I just called to talk."

"I'm very busy," he told her.

"Ever hear of delegating, Clark?"

"Yes," he said shortly. "What ... do ... you ... want, Lana?"

"I'm going to be in town tomorrow. I thought we should catch up."

"I can't imagine you and I having anything to say to each other."

He'd first met Lana when he was about eight. Lionel had been seeing Lana's aunt at the time and she'd brought her niece with her to a dinner party. Clark, of course, had been banished to his room and told to keep out of the way. He'd also been expected to entertain Lana.

Clark had spent much of his high school years trying to pursue a relationship with the pretty brunette until she started demanding to know his secrets. If there was one thing Clark hadn't liked it was being given ultimatums, which was what it amounted to with Lana.

They'd dated for a couple of years, but he'd finally broken it off when he'd caught her flirting with another guy. She'd claimed it was harmless fun, but it had quickly escalated into the argument to end all arguments. He'd eventually told her that since it looked like he wasn't meeting her needs then they were better off apart.

"Clark, come on, don't be like that. I just want to talk."

"I can't, Lana. I'm chasing a big story right now."

"The story about the train wreck? I've been reading the articles, Clark. I thought you were just a columnist?"

"Goodbye, Lana."

"No, wait," she said. "I really do want to talk to you. I mean, I had something important to tell you and I really wanted to do so in person, but I guess I just have to tell you now. I'm seeing someone. He's a good man, Clark. He doesn't treat me like a fragile butterfly."

"As opposed to me, you mean?" he said flatly.

"I didn't mean it like that," she protested. "I mean, yeah, you did treat me like I was that little girl on the cover of Time and I did get frustrated sometimes, but that was more my fault for not being honest with you. Clark, I just want us to be friends. I didn't want any bad blood between us."

"Who is this guy?"

"You don't know him," she said. "He lives in France. I met him when I was studying art history at the Sorbonne."

He could hear the happiness in her voice.

"You sound really happy," he said.

"I am. Clark, I ... I just wanted to apologise. For the way I acted when we were still together. Um, anyway, I ... I'll be at the Lexor Hotel for a couple of days."

Clark hung up, relieved that Lana didn't want to get back together. The break-up had been hard enough.

Knowing that Claire would be busy setting up appointments with the victims' families, Clark decided to make a few phone calls himself. He had a friend in the Metropolis PD who he hoped would be able to give him a few leads.

He left the office, telling Claire where he was going, and headed to the precinct. There was a female officer on the desk as he went in. Putting on a smile, Clark decided it was time to pour on the Luthor charm.

"Well, hey there," he said.

The blonde looked up at him and frowned.

"Whatever it is, we're not buying."

"Aw, come on," he said, going for the 'puppy dog' look he'd used on Lana a few times when he wanted something from her. "Give a guy a break. It's not every day he sees a pretty girl in uniform."

She blushed, clearly flattered by the comment, her cheeks turning rosy. She seemed to give herself a mental shake.

"Still not buying it, Mr Luthor. Your reputation precedes you."

"Lies, all lies," he said, leaning on the desk and gazing into her eyes as if they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

"Well, look who it is," a female voice drawled behind him.

He turned and glowered at the brunette.

"Lane. What brings you down here?" he said, trying to make it sound nonchalant, despite the fact his heart was actually pounding in his chest. What was it about Lane that made him almost sweat with nervousness?

"Why? Afraid I might scoop you?" she said with a smirk.

"As if you could," he retorted.

"That a challenge, Luthor?"

He turned away from her as his friend Dan Turpin came out of the squad room. Clark had become friends with the detective when he'd still been a patrolman. Oliver had been investigating corruption within the police force and Clark had gone along to help out, primarily to keep his friend out of trouble. He'd saved Dan's life when he'd refused to go along with the other squad members. Clark wondered if Dan suspected he was Superman, but he'd never asked him about it.

"Hey Dan. You got a minute?"

"For you? Anything. Why don't we go grab a coffee at the cafe down the street," he suggested. "Coffee's lousy here."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Turpin," the blonde on the desk snarked.

Dan grinned back at her and sent her a mock salute. He glanced at Lois, who was still glaring angrily at Clark.

"Don't leave town, Lane."

"Hmph," she said, flouncing off with her nose in the air, but not before sending Clark a vicious look.

The blond detective shrugged. "What'd you do to her?"

"She's competition," he replied.

"Oh," the other man said, appearing to understand. "You're working on the same story. I'm guessing that's why you came down."

"You psychic or something?" Clark chuckled. "So what was that all about with Lane?"

"She came across a murder victim last night. Two, actually."

Clark frowned at his friend as they sat down in the cafe after ordering their coffees. He'd seen Lois leave, at which point he'd dropped his flirting with the younger woman. He'd got a kick out of the glare Lois had sent his way, knowing she was jealous.

"Was it connected to the story?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Two sixteen year old street kids. They apparently stole a few items from the crash site and came across something they thought they could profit off, so they called Lane and offered to sell it to her."

"What was it?"

Dan shook his head. "Dunno. By the time she got there she couldn't see anything unusual and they were both dead."

"Damn!"

"Anyway, we called her down to the station this morning so she could give her statement. So, what's really going on between you two? Thought I saw some fireworks there."

Clark snorted. "Please. As if I would ever be interested in someone like Lane."

"Sounds like you protest too much," Dan grinned. "Admit it, you like riling her up."

"So?"

"So I've known you a couple of years now. I've never seen you get this annoyed over a woman before. Especially a woman as gorgeous as Lane."

"Hey, you're a married man."

His friend shrugged. "So? Doesn't mean I can't look."

"Yeah, tell that to Suzie after she makes you sleep on the couch."

"She would not."

"Would too," Clark replied. His phone rang and he picked it up. "Claire, what have you got for me?"

"One of the passengers remembered someone taking a video of a woman and two kids by the carriage that took the most impact, so I tracked them down. Turns out he was the kids' father and it was their first ever train ride."

"So he was recording it to mark the occasion. Was he on the train?"

"No. Anyway, he agreed to meet with you and show you the video."

"Why can't he just email it?"

"He doesn't want it getting on YouTube. I mean, he just lost his wife and his youngest child."

"Understandable. Thanks Claire. What time did he want to meet?"

"He said six. There's a problem though. He's meeting with Lois Lane about two o'clock."

Crap! He was going to have to do something about that. As soon as he could track Lane down.

"Uh, so Dan, you guys got any leads to who might have caused the wreck?"

"Nothing so far, but then we don't officially know that it was sabotage and not human error. Carmichael's been thoroughly investigated."

"And?"

"And nothing. I mean, it looked like someone was trying to set Carmichael up to take the fall, but Superman sure put a stop to that in a hurry."

"Yeah, well he was there helping the victims."

"So were Green Arrow and Batman but I don't see them digging into what caused the wreck."

"They have problems of their own to take care of in their own cities."

Dan nodded. "I wonder what they were doing in Metropolis in the first place?" he mused.

"From what I hear, they have a network set up and can be anywhere to help with disasters."

It had originally been Oliver's idea to set up a network of others like them so they could come to the aid of others especially when it was a big event like the train wreck. Now there were at least a dozen of them and they were still tracking more like-minded people with different abilities.

Dan was called to a case and took off, leaving Clark to ponder the situation with Lane. The last thing he wanted was for her to get the video before he did but he had no idea how to stop that.

Oliver called shortly before noon.

"Hey, wanna meet for lunch?"

"Sure. Ace of Clubs?"

"Sounds good to me," his friend said. "Oh, by the way, Chloe's on the warpath."

Great, Clark sighed. Just what he needed.

He'd met Chloe when her father had taken a job working for Luthorcorp. They'd both been in middle school then, although she attended a school in Metropolis, while he had been at Excelsior. The young blonde seemed to have a bad habit of snooping into things that didn't concern her, especially at Luthorcorp and while Lionel had indulged her antics when she was twelve, he wasn't so lenient when she grew older. Especially when she began uncovering activities Lionel wanted hidden.

Clark had no illusions about his family. Lionel had been a ruthless bastard at best and he didn't care who he trod on to get what he wanted. He'd been disappointed when Clark had announced he wasn't going to follow his father into the business, like Lex had done, as his teachers at Excelsior had discovered his aptitude for writing and encouraged it.

Chloe had moved to Smallville when her father had been promoted to manager of Luthorcorp Fertilizer Plant No 3 and while she lamented being sent to live in the sticks, she quickly found plenty to keep her occupied. Since then, she'd become a member of the 'club'.

She'd met Oliver through Clark and began dating him. They were now married and she was heavily pregnant with their first child. Which was why she hadn't gone with Oliver to the party the other night, or been at the Press Club the night before.

He made his way to the Ace of Clubs and sat down with his friend, quickly bringing up the subject of Chloe and her current temper.

"What did I do to her?" he asked.

"Something about this rivalry you've got going on with Lane. You know they're cousins, right?"

"I did know that, actually." Not that Chloe had ever seen fit to introduce him to her cousin, he thought. She was probably thinking he'd treat her the same as he treated every other woman. Date them for a while then dump them. He didn't see a problem with it, even if it did make him look like a womaniser. It wasn't like he was meeting them then taking them to bed and dumping them as soon as he got what he wanted from them. He did have some standards, and he was not a one-night stand kind of guy.

He'd leave that up to Lex.

That wasn't to say he hadn't done it before. Especially with the model the other night. Still, she was the one who had come on to him and he was, after all, a red-blooded male.

"Well, you gotta admit, you do have a reputation."

"Unlike you who used to have a model on each arm and one waiting in the wings."

"Yeah, that quit the moment Chloe got this ring on my finger," Oliver chuckled, holding up his left hand to show the ring. "She'd kill me if I so much as looked at another woman."

"I'm surprised she let you get away with taking Lois the other night."

"Lois was there trying to get an interview with someone. That was the only reason she let me escort her."

Clark snorted. "Oh to be you," he said, his eyes flicking around the room. "Well, speak of the devil."

Oliver looked amused as he followed Clark's gaze and spotted Lane sitting at the bar, eating one of the club's specialty sandwiches.

"Don't even think about it," he said.

"What?" Clark said, trying, and failing, to look innocent.

"I know that look, Luthor."

"Hey, she started it."

Oliver groaned. "Chloe is so going to kill me!"

Clark patted his friend's shoulder, then got up, going to the bar to order some food. He turned and looked at Lane.

"Fancy seeing you here," he said. "Small world."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Too small," she muttered.

The idea hit him as he gave his order to the barman. Surreptitiously he reached into his pocket and pressed a button to make it ring, then took it out.

"Claire?" he said, flicking a glance at Lois to make sure she was listening, then felt in his pockets for his notepad. "Okay, I got it. Hickory Lane, Smallville. Hey, isn't that the Kent place? They want to meet when? Damn, can you call them back and ask if they can delay it until three? I know, I know, it sounds like we've hit paydirt with this one. Thanks Claire."

He pretended to write down the address on his notepad and put his phone away. Lois continued to eat, trying to look nonchalant, but he could tell from the look on her face that she was pondering the situation.

XXXXX

As soon as Clark had gone back to his table, Lois grabbed her things, throwing some money on the bar and walking out. She borrowed a vehicle from the paper's small fleet and drove out of the city, checking her map. She had only been to Smallville a couple of times and both times she had gotten horribly lost.

It was at least a three hour drive to the town, at normal speed anyway, and she knew there was nothing she could do about the video. She had already asked the father to email it but he wouldn't play ball.

She supposed she could understand the man's reluctance, given the way videos were uploaded to YouTube all the time. What man would want his grief all over the Internet? It was bad enough that the story was splashed on the front pages of both the Daily Planet and the Star.

She just hoped Luthor wouldn't get there first.

As she drove, she found herself thinking about the youngest Luthor. Sure, he was smart and handsome, and oh god, really sexy, she thought, but he was also a pain in the ass. Not to mention the fact that he was her biggest rival.

Before this story, Lois had wondered whether she should try for a job in the Daily Planet. The Metropolis Star was owned by a man who was a Charles Kane wannabe and there were times when she really despised her boss. He continually bullied a woman who worked in the op-ed department, making her feel really small. The only reason he never picked on Lois was because the general had raised her to be tough and take no nonsense from anyone.

Of course, now that she knew Luthor was working at the Daily Planet, the last thing she wanted to do was be forced to work with him. No matter how hot he was.

She glanced at the map again and frowned at the rows of cornfields. She'd been driving for nearly three hours and still hadn't found the farm. She was lost. Again. Sighing, she pulled over to the side of the road and stopped, poring over the map hoping it might give her some clue. Her boss really needed to get vehicles with GPS, she thought. Although he was such a cheapskate she was sure he would never go for it.

She started at the sound of a tapping on the window. A woman in her late forties, wearing what appeared to be the jacket of the sheriff's office, looked at her. Lois wound the window down.

"Everything all right there, miss?"

"Uh, actually, I'm kind of lost. I'm looking for the Kent Farm."

The woman frowned. "Kent Farm? Oh honey, no one's lived at that farm for about a year now."

It was Lois' turn to frown. "Well, that can't be right," she said. "They wouldn't ..."

It suddenly dawned on her. Luthor had set her up.

"Son of a ..." She was so going to get him back for this. "He sent me on a wild goose chase."

The only thing that would have made it even funnier would have been actual wild geese, she thought as she bade the sheriff goodbye and turned the car around, heading back toward the highway and getting on the road to the city.

By the time she made it back to Metropolis, it was already dark. She had tried calling the man with the video but he wasn't picking up. Sighing, she decided there was not much point in trying to chase him up.

Instead she called Chloe.

"Hey, it's me."

"Hi Lois. Um, we're kind of busy at the moment. Can I call you back?"

"What's going on, Chlo?"

"Uh, Ollie and I have a ... friend over. They're just talking business stuff."

"Friend?" she asked, instantly suspicious.

"Um, yeah, a friend. Uh, it's Clark, actually."

She frowned. Okay, so she understood that Clark was friends with Oliver, and she was vaguely aware of his friendship with Chloe, but still, she felt a little put out that Chloe would beg off spending any time with her, especially since her cousin was so close to giving birth.

"Look, don't be mad, okay?" her cousin's voice begged. "He just had some business he needed to discuss with Ollie and decided to stay for dinner."

"I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?" she said, seething inwardly.

"Because I can hear when you're lying to me, Lo. We'll do something tomorrow, okay? That's if I can move. I swear to god there's no way I'm doing this again."

Lois heard a snort in the background and knew Oliver was saying something snarky to his wife. Chloe responded with a rude retort, chuckling into the phone. Lois found herself grinning as she hung up from her cousin.

Chloe was lucky, she thought. Even if things hadn't worked out between her and Oliver, she was glad that they'd managed to stay such good friends. She was doubly glad that Chloe was the one who had ended up marrying him. Her cousin needed someone to act as a buffer for her energetic personality. Chloe could keep Oliver on the straight-and-narrow, while he would balance her otherwise stubborn nature.

Figuring she could at least get in some research, Lois opened up her laptop to look at her notes on the story. She found herself searching the internet for anything on Clark Luthor.

It didn't say much. The gossip rags, of course, were always speculating, but Clark seemed to avoid the limelight, going out of his way to keep away from the paparazzi. While there was the occasional appearance at charity functions and premieres, she had the feeling that he only went out of obligation.

There was one photo taken years ago, when Clark was about eighteen. He was standing next to Lionel, who, of course, was holding court. On the other hand, Clark looked uncomfortable, his face a picture of misery.

Lois found herself wondering if she'd seriously misjudged him. Sure, from what she'd heard at the Daily Planet, he did sound like a spoiled brat, but maybe that was just based on someone else's perception of him. What did she really know about the youngest Luthor, other than the fact he was adopted by one of the most hated businessmen in the city?

God Lois, you're starting to act like a stalker, she told herself.

Sighing, she turned to the research for the story, but there wasn't much there. The intern who had gathered the material had given her plenty but there was nothing to tell her who had sabotaged the train and why. As much as the train company protested, she would rather believe Superman.

She went into the office the next day and was called in to her boss' office.

"Well?" he asked, leering at her.

Lois fought the urge to pull her jacket tight in an attempt to cover herself up. While she hadn't exactly been able to prove it, she thought her boss was a lech. She hated men like that.

"So far I've not come up with anything to prove Superman's theory, but that doesn't mean he's wrong," she said. "I've interviewed almost everyone except Earl Jenkins' wife. I did hear something interesting though. They were separated. He kept going on and on about some secret level of the Luthorcorp plant in Smallville but Lionel always denied it existed."

"Interesting, but hardly worth sabotaging a train for."

There was a knock on the door and the intern, Foster, came in.

"Miss Lane, Mrs Jenkins called. She wants to meet with you."

Finally, Lois thought. A break in the story. She took the message slip from Foster and glanced at the address. It was an older building uptown. The woman had asked to meet her there at nine.

She wondered what Belinda Jenkins had to say.


	4. Chapter 4

Clark glanced at the GPS, looking again for the location of the house, sighing. Things were so much easier when he was flying, but it wasn't always possible, or the best thing to do under the circumstances. Still, it didn't help when the streets tended to be a maze of one-way streets and the GPS wasn't always that accurate.

Chloe often laughed at him for his reliance on the GPS when he was out driving. She teased him that men were supposed to be good at reading maps. It wasn't his fault that most of the time he was either running or flying. Everything looked different from that perspective.

He grinned at the memory of his friends bantering the night before. Chloe looked about ready to pop and she was constantly complaining about her aching limbs and the baby keeping her awake at all hours. Oliver had told his wife to get used to it, since babies never kept to a regular schedule, which had prompted a mock argument between them. Oliver had been adamant he wasn't changing diapers, to which Chloe had responded that he better or he'd be sleeping on the couch for the next eighteen years because there was no way she was going to let him anywhere near her until the kid was in college.

Oliver had just given Clark a look and told him it was hormones. His friend tried to look put-upon but Clark knew they were both excited about the birth of their first child, even if Chloe was freaking out a little about the labour.

Clark had managed to get the tape from Mr Thomas that afternoon. The man had been a little annoyed that Lois hadn't shown up, but he had handed the copy over with few comments. Clark had known the prank he'd played on Lois was a little cruel, but then again, she clearly had a lead that he didn't after she'd come across the two boys.

He had to admit he enjoyed the little bit of rivalry he had going with Lane. Perry had told him that he once had the same kind of rivalry going with another reporter. Of course, Perry had gone on to win a Pulitzer for his story while his rival had been left eating his dust, so to speak. The older man had warmed up considerably to Clark in the past couple of weeks, ever since he'd begun chasing the story.

"So you're not just a snot-nosed spoiled rich kid," Perry had said, reminding Clark of what he'd first overheard when Perry had been yelling down the phone over the column. It might have sounded harsh, but he'd said it in a way that Clark knew he was teasing, as if he knew Clark had overheard him.

They'd come to a detente, of sorts. Clark had managed to at least prove that he was willing to work and work hard and that his blunder with his column had been a one-off. Perry had surmised that it was the competition with the other paper which had spurred him on more than anything and Clark supposed the man did have a point.

A car horn blaring behind him startled him out of his thoughts and he looked up, realising the light had changed. He drove on, continuing to look down the street, finally finding the right address a couple of blocks away. He parked the car and got out, walking up the path to the porch, knocking on the door.

An attractive woman with chocolate-coloured skin came out.

"Yes?" she said.

"I'm Clark Luthor. From the Daily Planet? I was wondering if ..."

"I'm really sorry but I don't have time to talk right now," she said, her eyes darting nervously. "I have to get ready for work. Could you meet me at my office tonight? Around nine?"

Clark frowned. It seemed an odd time to be setting up a meeting. From what he knew about Belinda Jenkins, she was a secretary. Why would she be working that late, especially when she had a young son to take care of as well? Still, it wasn't his place to say anything, so he agreed to the meeting, taking the slip of paper the woman handed him and putting it in his pocket.

As he left the house, his phone beeped telling him he had a text. He glanced at the screen.

_Meet at Watchtower. _

Clark sent a message back, telling Oliver he would be there in about thirty minutes. Oliver sent a text back.

_What? No super speed?_

_Driving, nimrod,_ he texted back. It wasn't like he could just leave the car, since it was from the Daily Planet's pool of vehicles. He had to at least act the part of a mere mortal if he didn't want anyone to discover he was Superman.

Thirty minutes later he opened the double doors of Watchtower. Oliver turned and looked at him.

"Nimrod?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Your point?" Clark returned.

Chloe waddled past, her hand on her swollen belly.

"I swear this kid's sitting on my goddamn bladder," she said. "That's the third time in the past half hour."

"Uh, too much information, Chlo," Clark said.

She sent him a withering look, but continued on, sitting at the desk, typing on the keyboard. An image appeared on the huge screen.

"I'm afraid it's not the greatest but I did the best I could," Chloe sighed.

Clark huffed. The image was lousy, even if she had re-rendered it. All he saw was what appeared to be a man in overalls working on the coupling of the carriage where he had seen the debris from the explosive. He glanced at the timestamp.

"If this was after seven, what was a maintenance worker doing in between the carriages? The normal maintenance was scheduled about two hours before the train left the station and nobody reported any fault."

"Then I guess that proves your theory that someone deliberately sabotaged the train," Oliver said.

"It isn't a theory. I saw the bomb fragments."

"Yet didn't you say that the train company is denying all knowledge of it?" Chloe asked.

"Actually, I overheard Lois talking to the company director."

"Um, speaking of Lois, what is up with you and her?" his friend asked. "She called last night, by the way. I had to put her off."

"Uh yeah, didn't you make plans with her for today?" Oliver reminded her.

Chloe frowned, glancing at the clock. "Crap. I almost forgot. Can I trust you two boys to behave yourselves?"

"Who? Us? We're angels," her husband replied.

"Yeah, right," she said, wrinkling her nose at him, trying to push herself off the chair she was sitting on. "Um ... Ollie, help me up."

"Huh?"

"You got me this way, Queen, now help me up or I swear to God ..."

He pulled her up. "Sorry honey," he said sheepishly.

Clark watched as Chloe grabbed her purse and started waddling out the door. She paused and glared at him.

"Don't you even think it, Luthor!"

"Think what?"

"I know my behind looks like the back of a bus."

He held up his hands. "I wasn't thinking that at all," he said in protest. He had been thinking that she looked a little pale and exhausted, which was understandable under the circumstances.

She snorted. "Right! I'll believe that when pigs start flying."

Clark looked at his friend as Chloe left.

"Better you than me, my friend."

Oliver snorted. "Gee, thanks. I just hope she has the kid soon 'cause she's driving me nuts!"

Clark laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"I would say Chloe would be thinking you have that backwards."

Oliver cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Me drive her nuts? I swear Clark, it's like one minute she's all sunshine and roses and the next she's chewing me out over god knows what. It's like living with Attila the Hun and Mary Poppins all in the one body."

Clark sniggered. "Mary Poppins?"

Oliver grimaced. "Don't ask!" He looked Clark over. "So, um, Chloe said Lois sounded pissed when she called last night. What did you do to her anyway?"

"Just sent her on a wild goose chase."

"Why would you do something as boneheaded as that?"

"So I could get the tape first," he replied.

"Damn, Clark, I never knew you were so competitive. You know Lois isn't the type to let these things go."

He grinned. "I know, but that's half the fun."

"It's a good thing you're invulnerable, Luthor. I mean I'd hate to be in your position when she finally does decide to get her revenge."

"What can I say? I just love messing with her."

Oliver smirked at him. "You've got it bad, my friend."

"What are you talking about?"

His friend held up his hands. "You," he said, indicating his right hand. "Lois," he indicated with his left, before pressing the two together.

"You're dreaming. She's not even my type."

"You don't even have a type!"

Clark shook his head but Oliver kept grinning.

"Denial, my friend, is not just a river in Egypt."

"Whatever!"

Clark walked over to the computer and began typing in some commands, only for the computer to tell him Access Denied.

"Is there any way to access the cameras at the station for the night of the train crash?"

"Stop avoiding the subject," Oliver told him, while nudging him out of the way and typing on the keyboard. Several black and white images came up on the big screen.

"I'm not avoiding the subject," Clark said as he moved to study the images.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. I've never seen you act this way with a girl before. Not even Lang made you this nuts."

"Who are you calling nuts?" he asked, glowering at his friend.

"Whoa! Don't shoot! I'm just calling it like I see it."

"You're full of it. I don't have feelings for Lane. She's bossy. She's stuck-up. I can't stand her."

"Denial," Oliver replied in a singsong voice.

"Jerk!" Clark turned back to the screen. "Can we fast forward this?"

"What are you looking for anyway?"

"Hopefully a better image of the guy who sabotaged the train," he said, his gaze on the flickering screens. "Wait. Back up."

Oliver pressed a key and the action paused before rewinding slightly. Clark saw a man wearing a ballcap walking on the platform holding what looked like a toolbox. He seemed to be trying to hide his face from the camera. As they kept watching, the man stepped down off the platform onto the tracks, wedging himself between the carriages. To anyone watching, it looked like he was just a maintenance worker.

"Back it up again. Let's see if we can get an image of his face."

"The software's top-of-the-line, Clark, but even we can't get a picture of his face from nothing."

Frowning, Clark focused his micro-vision, looking desperately for something that might give them a better image. Clearly the man was being extra careful not to be seen. Moving back to the computer, he tried rewinding the images, following the man's progress back along the platform. He squinted, then pointed.

"There. See that?"

"I can't see nothing," Oliver said with a mock accent.

"How do you zoom in?"

"Look out. Let the pro handle it."

Clark ignored that remark, watching as Oliver zoomed in on the spot.

"Well, will you look at that? Guess he forgot about his reflection in the door."

Clark watched as Oliver cleaned up the image and used the software to access facial recognition.

"I'm sure we'll find this guy in no time," he said.

XXXXX

Lois waited at the counter as Chloe waddled over to a booth and threw her purse on the seat. She took the two coffees from the cashier and took them over to the table.

"You know, you're walking like a duck," she said.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "That's cute, cuz. I don't even let my husband get away with saying stuff like that."

"Well, you know, if he's making fun of you, you can always send him to me."

"I'd want him back in one piece, Lois, not pieces. So, what's happening with you and Clark?"

"Oh, nice segue cuz. Nothing's happening with me and Clark."

"Right," the blonde snorted. "So I'm just imagining this intense rivalry going on between the two of you?"

"How are you even friends with the jerk, anyway?"

"He's not a jerk," Chloe said in protest. "I mean, okay, he can be an ass sometimes, but if you'd been raised by Lionel Luthor, you'd be the same. Even Tess said she was lucky she got out when she did."

"Tess?"

"She's Lex's half-sister. She was disowned by Lionel when she decided she wanted to pursue a career in biology. She got a job working for a lab in Sydney."

"Sydney, Australia?" Lois asked. "Well, that's about as far away as you can get from the Luthors. Unless you count New Zealand. Or Antarctica."

"Yeah, she actually worked in Antarctica for about six months. We keep in contact by email."

"Poor little rich girl," Lois snorted. "I wish I had her problems."

"Trust me, you really don't want to go there. Lionel wasn't called the Magnificent Bastard for nothing. Rumour has it Lex is bucking for the same title."

"He seemed nice enough when I danced with him the other night."

"Yeah, Ollie told me. Lois, I'm telling you. Stay away from Lex. You really don't want to tangle with him."

"Is the same true for Clark?"

"Clark is a pussy cat compared to Lex."

"So you say," Lois told her. "He's been nothing but arrogant and obnoxious."

"Well, maybe you rattled him," her cousin grinned. Then she grimaced in pain and rubbed her belly. "Ugh! Sooner I have this kid the better."

"You okay?" Lois asked, concerned. "That looked like it hurt."

"It's just Braxton Hicks. I'll be fine. Doc says it's perfectly normal."

Lois looked at her cousin in sympathy. "I'm glad I'm not taking that route."

"You don't want kids?" Chloe asked, still rubbing her belly.

She shrugged. "I guess. Maybe with the right guy. Of course, I don't see Mr Right knocking down my door any time soon."

"I don't know. Maybe Mr Right is closer than you think," Chloe answered with a grin.

"Oh, you better not be talking about Clark Luthor. I can't stand the man."

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much." She groaned again, so loud this time that everyone in the coffee shop turned to look at them. One of the staff came over.

"Uh, is your friend okay?" she asked Lois.

She was about to tell the girl that Chloe was fine when her cousin groaned again.

"Lo, could you help me," she said, struggling to move. "Really shouldn't have picked a booth," she grumbled. Not that they'd had much choice, Lois thought, since the coffee shop was fairly full.

Lois got up and helped her cousin stand. The blonde grabbed her purse and started to waddle off to the bathroom.

"Do you need me to come with?" she asked.

"No, I'll be fine."

Lois chewed on her lip. Chloe looked pale, as if she was in a lot of pain. She debated whether to call Oliver and get him to come and pick Chloe up.

Suddenly someone came running out of the women's bathroom.

"Uh, you guys better call an ambulance. There's a pregnant woman in there who I think has gone into labour."

Crap! Lois dug in her purse for her phone and dialled the number.

"Hello?"

"Oliver?"

"No, this is Clark. Oliver just had to step out for a minute."

Lois groaned inwardly. "Well, you better get him because I think Chloe's gone into labour."

She heard some odd noises in the background, then Oliver's voice could be heard, sounding panicked. He took the phone.

"Lois, are you sure?"

There was a scream from the bathroom. Lois ran to the door and looked in. Chloe was practically on all fours, panting, surrounded by a puddle.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"Look, I'm going to get there as fast as I can. In the meantime, I have a friend I can send. He should be there in a couple minutes."

"Wait, how do you even know where ..." she began, but the phone was cut off.

Two minutes was an awfully long time when you were watching your cousin and best friend in pain. Lois did her best to support Chloe while the staff hung around looking helpless.

"Breathe Chloe," she said. "Deep breaths."

She knew nothing about childbirth except what she'd seen on afterschool specials and some reality tv and as far as she was concerned, none of that measured up to what was happening here.

She was stunned when the bathroom door opened and a man in a skin-tight blue suit walked in. Lois stared up at him.

"Superman?"

"I heard the commotion," he said, clearly fudging it for the benefit of the coffee shop staff. Lois nodded in thanks. The last thing Chloe and Oliver needed was for people to put two and two together and connect Green Arrow to the Queens.

He gently lifted Chloe into his arms and carried her out. Lois followed, holding her cousin's belongings, watching as Superman rose slowly into the air.

"You'll be all right, ma'am," he told Chloe.

"I'll, uh, meet you at Met Gen Chloe," Lois called as Superman took off.

Wow! she thought as Superman disappeared, clearly flying at not even half his usual speed. She had seen him a few times, of course, but this was the closest she'd ever seen him in daylight. She suspected he'd rescued her a couple of times but he'd never stuck around long enough for her to thank him.

"Wow!" Lois looked around at the teenage girl who had been serving. "He's amazing, isn't he?"

She just nodded, not wanting to gush. The manager came out, holding a cellphone.

"You left this on the table, ma'am."

"Oh, thanks. Um, I should help clean up the mess."

The man shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Your cousin's more important. Hope she and the baby are okay."

Lois dug a twenty out of her purse. "Thank you," she said. "You've been very kind." She turned away before the man could object, whistling for a taxi.

Oliver had clearly just arrived at the hospital himself as he was running up the steps to the entrance. Clark was with him. Lois paid the taxi driver and got out, waving to her friend.

"Lois," he said.

"Superman ..." she began to say but he shot her a look.

"I know. That's why I called him. Let's get in there."

The three of them made their way to the emergency reception. Oliver spoke to the nurse while Lois glared at Clark.

"What are you doing here?"

"For your information, I'm actually worried about my friends. Is that a crime?"

"No," she said shortly, glaring at him with eyes narrowed. "But FYI? Next time you send me on a wild goose chase, you better sleep with your eyes open, Luthor!"

He smirked at her, but didn't comment. Oliver shot them both a look which clearly suggested they better not be thinking of getting into anything now. He appeared worried, which was understandable. He ran a hand through his spiky blonde locks.

"She's not supposed to be having the baby for another three weeks," he said, his forehead creased in a worried frown.

"Doctors have been known to get their dates wrong," Clark said.

Lois nodded. "That's true. Besides, three weeks is nothing. I'm sure everything's fine."

A nurse approached, giving Oliver the number of Chloe's room. They'd clearly taken her in very quickly after Superman had brought her in.

Another nurse was helping Chloe get settled in the bed as they came in. Chloe was still looking pale but a little better.

"Hey," she said with a smile. "I hope you didn't break any speed laws to get here," she gently scolded her husband.

"You're worth a couple of tickets," he said, sitting on the bed and taking her hand. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine. Well, as fine as I could be considering I'm in labour. They're gonna give me an epidural."

"That's good. Did the doc ..."

"He says everything seems to be fine. Guess the kid's just in a real hurry to meet his mommy and daddy."

Lois snorted. "Typical boy," she said. "Always so impatient."

"Speak for yourself, Lane," Clark said, earning a glower from her.

"You implying something, Luthor?" she growled back.

"Oh my God!" Chloe complained. "Could you two just get a room and get it over with? Seriously."

"Chloe!" Clark stared at her, wide-eyed.

"I mean, really, it's like you're Tracy and Hepburn. You get the fight, the banter, but really you just wish they'd jump each other and get it over with. You agree with me, don't you Ollie?"

"I'm not going there, honey."

Chloe suddenly screwed up her face, groaning in pain. Oliver's own face contorted as she squeezed his hand. The room was filled with a combination of Chloe's groans and Oliver's own moans.

"Ow, geez!" he said when she finally relaxed again. He shook his hand. "I thought they were kidding about that."

Chloe looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, baby. I guess I don't know my own strength."

Lois chewed on her lip. Yeah, there was no way in hell she was going to go through that any time soon. She glanced at Clark but he was pointedly looking away from her.

The nurse came in pushing a monitor and shooed them out so she could get Chloe hooked up. Lois sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting room while Clark stood leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

Lois saw a doctor and another nurse enter the room an hour or so later, then Oliver came out, looking a little less worried.

"Everything okay?" she asked, at the same time as Clark. She scowled at him but turned back to her friend.

"Yeah. The doc says she's only dilated a couple of centimetres so it looks like we might be here for a while. You guys don't have to wait."

"She's my cousin. Of course I'll wait," Lois said.

"I mean it, guys. This could be an all-nighter. I can call you as soon as anything starts happening, okay? I don't want you guys losing sleep, or your jobs for that matter. The doctor says she's fine, and you know Chloe."

"Yeah, no worries, Oliver," Clark said. "I have some things I need to do."

Lois bit her lip. She was torn between staying with her cousin and the appointment at nine. It was already after five and she had to report back to her boss. Considering how much of an ass he was, she doubted he would look too favourably on her if she dropped the ball on the story just because her cousin was having a baby.

"You know, you're right," she said. "I'm just gonna go in and say goodbye to Chloe." She nodded stiffly at Clark. "Luthor!" she added, trying not to sound snide.

Chloe was laying on her side watching the monitor in fascination. She glanced up when Lois went in.

"You know this thing lets you know when you're about to have a contraction? It's amazing!"

Lois frowned at her. Chloe had always had a fascination with technology and she had a way around them which on anyone else would be kind of geeky. Not that Chloe was a geek by any means. Now Luthor, on the other hand, with those stupid glasses he wore ... Lois thought he would be totally hot if he would just remove the glasses, but then again she'd always had a thing for nerds, and ...

What am I saying? she thought. I do not have the hots for that obnoxious so-and-so. Chloe frowned at her.

"Okay, you look like your thoughts just went from zero to sixty in about two seconds. What's going on?"

"Nothing. I ... I was just ... you know what, never mind. Um, Ollie says you're going to be a while."

"And you have a job to do. Hey, don't worry, okay. He'll call you as soon as anything happens. There's no point in you hanging around getting bored. Besides, knowing your boss, he'd see it as an opportunity to fire you or something. It's not like he hasn't tried it before."

Lois nodded. She had been hurt working on another story and been hospitalised for two days, which resulted in her losing the lead and he'd threatened to fire her. He knew damn well he couldn't do so but she had countered by threatening to report him for sexual harassment if he tried. He'd once come on to her and she had shot him down, which had been a massive blow to his ego.

"Okay," she said, leaning over to kiss her cousin's cheek. "You get some rest. I'm guessing you're gonna need it."

"Sure. Love you."

"Love you too."

She went out, catching a cab back to the office. Her boss wasn't in, thankfully, so she spent her time compiling her notes and trying to make some sense of the events so far. She sat back, chewing on her pencil as she began thinking about her few brief encounters with Lionel's youngest son.

What she wouldn't give to show him that she wasn't just a rival reporter. She was sure that was all he thought. At least he didn't think about her as some empty-headed bimbo. If there was one thing she could say about him it was that he wasn't a misogynist like Lionel seemed to be. A few years ago she'd been at a press conference Lionel had been giving and had put a hand up to ask a question but the billionaire had completely ignored her in favour of Steve Lombard, who had, at that time, also been a reporter with the Star. He was now working at the Daily Planet.

Yep, at least Clark seemed to have a modicum of respect for women. He seemed to treat her the same as he would any other rival. She would just love to get the opportunity to show him that beneath the conservative blazers beat the heart of a hot-blooded, passionate woman. She'd push him up against the wall, mash her lips against his and ...

Her chair tipped over and Lois fell on her butt on the floor, realising that she had spent the last half hour fantasising about Clark. It was the wake-up call she needed.

C'mon, Lane, forget about Luthor. He is so not your type.

She ordered some take-out so she could eat while she finished writing up all her notes. By the time she was done, she had about twenty minutes to get across town to Belinda Jenkins' office.

The building was about as dilapidated as she recalled from her research. Frowning, she looked toward the guard station in the lobby, but the station was empty. The lift door was closing and she ran to catch it before it closed completely, thrusting a hand in between the doors.

As they opened to admit her, she stared at the other sole occupant.

"Oh no!"


	5. Chapter 5

Clark did his best to ignore Lois as the doors slid slowly closed and she practically shoved him aside to press the already lit button for the twentieth floor. He was reminded of a scene from a movie he'd once seen when he was a kid but decided against making the smart-assed remark.

It was fairly obvious they were going to see the same person, but he wasn't going to say it first.

"So, um, Ollie sent me a text saying the doctor thinks it's going to be several more hours, you know, before ..." Lois began awkwardly.

"Yeah, well it's going to take time, I guess. Chloe'll be fine though. There's no need to worry."

"Oh, I'm not worried."

"Uh-huh!"

There was another awkward silence. The elevator seemed to be taking forever.

"So, what Chloe was saying before ..." Clark began, biting his lip. Lois interrupted him, snorting.

"I guess it must be the labour pains talking because Chloe was way off the mark. I mean, you and me. Yeah, in an alternate universe."

"Well, that's what I was just going to say," he told her.

Lois turned and looked at him with an expression that suggested she didn't believe him for a second.

"I mean, hypothetically speaking, although there is no way in a million years it would happen, it would be Hepburn and Tracy."

He frowned at her. "What?"

"The whole you and me thing? Not that I'm saying I'm interested, I mean, don't get me wrong, you're a good looking guy, but so not my type, but if it were like one of those screwball romantic comedies, I would always get top billing."

He looked back at her. "Really?" he said. "So what you're saying is, you don't feel any attraction to me at all."

He began to move, crowding her against the wall of the elevator.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked.

If Clark had been thinking with his right brain at that moment, he probably wouldn't have done it, but he couldn't help himself. She was driving him crazy. From the light scent she wore to the way her long dark hair just seemed to frame that pretty face, giving it almost a luminescent quality.

"Stop it," she told him, but without any kind of heat.

"Stop what?" he asked.

She pushed against him ineffectually. Clark could have let her push him back but he just didn't want to.

"I'm warning you, I have a black belt."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" he asked. "Truth is, I think you're the one who's scared."

"You're deluding yourself, Luthor."

Clark moved in for the kill, kissing her, at first hard, then softening it, gently coaxing her lips open so he could thrust his tongue in her mouth. She responded with a light touch of her own tongue, whimpering a little. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

Then the elevator ground to a shuddering halt and the lights went out. He felt around for an emergency button and his hand landed on something soft.

"Hey buddy," a voice said irritably. "Does that feel like an emergency button?"

He said nothing, checking his pockets for something he could use to give them some light. With a huff of annoyance, Lois pulled out her cellphone, lighting up the screen. It wasn't much but it was enough for him to see the panel for the emergency phone. He grabbed it, listening for a few seconds.

"It's dead," he told her.

"I can't get a signal," she said. "Now what?"

He bit his lip. He couldn't exactly use his powers in front of Lois, not if he didn't want to reveal that he was Superman. He looked around, wondering if he should look through the wall and try to identify the problem but just as he started to lower his glasses, the elevator gave a lurch and started going back down at top speed, as if the cables had been cut.

Clark jumped up and flung open the top panel, looking at Lois.

"Come on," he said.

Lois frowned at him.

"What?"

"Do you want to plummet to the bottom, ie your death?"

"I don't trust you," she said.

He rolled his eyes.

"I don't care if you don't trust me. You know what? I'm not even going to waste time arguing with you." He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up, forcing her out through the panel. "There should be a ladder."

"I can't see a damn thing!" she complained.

He rolled his eyes again. "Women!" he huffed, then called: "I'm coming up," before jumping up so he could pull himself out of the elevator car. There was emergency lighting in the shaft but it was very dim. Since his eyesight was better than hers at seeing in near-darkness, he spotted a ladder on the side and pushed her toward it, urging her to start climbing.

He glanced down. It seemed someone had surveillance of some kind as the elevator car had stopped moving several floors below and it was starting to come up again. From his estimation, they were about three floors down from the roof.

"Keep climbing," he said, hearing Lois' growl of frustration as the doors failed to open on the floor above him.

"What the hell?" she muttered, clearly having checked below.

"Keep going!"

There was more muttering and he caught 'Luthor'. She seemed to be cursing her own luck at being caught up in something with him.

The elevator was getting closer and she was nowhere near the top.

"Need to move it, Lane," he said. He wouldn't get hurt, but she would.

"Keep your shirt on, Luthor!"

Huffing in annoyance, he stifled the urge to use just a small burst of superspeed to hurry her up, or use his heat vision on the elevator to stop it. Just as the car was closing in on them, Lois pushed hard against the panel locking the roof access and it abruptly opened. They both fell out of the access shaft onto the concrete. Lois stared up at him, panting. For a moment he was caught up in that gaze, wondering if he should kiss her again.

XXXXX

Lois continued to stare up at him. It was dark but there was light coming from somewhere and she could see his face clearly. He looked as if he wanted to kiss her again. She had to admit he was a great kisser. It had been all she could do not to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer.

Just as he began to lower his lips to hers, there was the sound of gunfire. Lois sprang to her feet, running away from the spraying bullets to try and find shelter. She thought Clark was right behind her but when she checked he was nowhere to be seen.

As much as she thought she disliked the man, she didn't want him to be shot.

The gunfire stopped suddenly and she looked around, seeing the tall form of Superman, his cape flapping in the breeze on the rooftop. He was holding the gunman.

"Superman?"

"Miss Lane. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Where's Clark?"

He frowned at her. "Clark?"

"Yeah, Clark Luthor. He was right behind me."

"I'm not sure," he said. "Wait here," he told her.

"But ..."

She had little chance to protest as Superman flew off with the man in tow. A couple of minutes later, she spotted Clark limping toward her, his pants torn.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah. I was running behind you and I tripped."

She started to bend down to check his leg and he pulled away.

"It's fine," he said. "Just a scratch. I landed pretty hard on my knee and it aggravated an old football injury."

She looked at him sceptically.

"You played football?" she asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. In high school."

"Oh, I'm guessing you were captain, team quarterback and had a bevy of cheerleaders to choose from."

"Yes, yes and it was just one cheerleader. And frankly, it's none of your business."

She sniffed haughtily. "Fine. Whatever!"

Clark ignored her. "I, uh, ran into Superman. He said he dropped the gunman off to the police. I'm guessing they'll want a statement."

"Why didn't he stick around?"

Clark shrugged. "I don't know. He's Superman! Maybe he had something else to take care of."

"Okay, whatever!" she said shortly, pushing past him to return to the elevator.

He grabbed her arm. "You know, whoever set this up could still be down there."

"What are you talking about?"

"Elevators don't just suddenly plummet by themselves. You know all those movies where the cables suddenly break and the elevator goes plummeting to the ground? Totally unrealistic. There is always an emergency brake."

"Well, listen to Mister Expert," she snorted.

"Look at this logically, Lane. The elevator suddenly comes to a stop, then plummets to the bottom floor, with us still in it, and as soon as we start climbing up the elevator shaft it changes direction. That would never happen unless ..."

She chewed on her lip. "Unless someone rigged it. Unless they were watching us!" She began to feel very nervous, wondering if there was a camera on the rooftop.

"That guy wasn't acting alone, Lois," Clark pointed out.

"Okay," she nodded. "You're right."

He smirked. "Well, that must be a first."

She glowered at him. "What? That you're right?"

"No, that you're admitting I'm right."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, save it for the front page, Luthor."

He sighed and shook his head. "Look, let's just get the hell out of here and see if we can figure out what the hell is going on. Since it was Belinda Jenkins who set this up, we can go by her place and talk to her."

She watched as he turned and headed for the stairs, clearly not willing to risk the elevator. She followed him, frowning slightly. He was no longer limping.

Lois wondered if the second person had decided to cut their losses as they managed to get back down the stairs without incident. Of course, when they did get down to street level, there was a brief argument about who would drive to Belinda Jenkins' house. Clark settled the argument by opening the passenger door of his classic Porsche and ushering her inside.

Grumbling, she knew she didn't have much of a choice and sat quietly as he drove through the streets, keeping his speed just above the city limit. She didn't comment, clinging with one hand to the seat.

"Does my driving bother you?" he asked.

She looked at him. "You bother me. Never mind your driving."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. If there was one thing Lois had always hated, it was an uncomfortable silence. She wished she hadn't given up smoking, she thought. At least she might have something to do with her hands.

She leaned forward and peered at the radio/CD player in the car, then reached out to touch the power button.

"Don't touch," he told her, smacking her hand.

She stared back at him, offended.

"I was just trying to ..."

"Well don't!" he told her. "Why don't you give Ollie a call and see how Chloe's doing? Just don't mention what's happened. You don't want to send her blood pressure skyrocketing."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Lois took her cellphone from her pocket and looked in dismay at the display. It was cracked. The phone must have been broken in the chase.

"It's broken," she said.

He leaned over her and opened the glove compartment, taking out a phone that looked like a more expensive model than hers.

"You know that's pretty stupid, right? Leaving your phone in your car? Nice to be so rich you can afford to throw away a phone like that."

"I didn't think I'd need the phone to interview Belinda Jenkins. What's your point, Lane?"

"I don't see you carrying a notepad either," she said. "How do you make notes at your interviews?"

"What's it to you?"

"How do I know you were really there to talk to Belinda Jenkins? How do I know you're not part of this whole set-up? I mean, God knows your father wasn't exactly Mr Rogers."

"So I'm now tarred with the same brush?"

"When we were up on the roof, you were limping. When we went downstairs, you weren't limping."

"So that's the basis for your accusation, Lane? Because I wasn't limping? I said it aggravated an old injury."

"No one recovers that fast, even if it is an old injury."

He looked at her incredulously.

"Are you fricking serious?" he said.

"I know your type, Luthor. You probably set this whole thing up so you could get me in a weak moment, make me feel sorry for you or something."

"You're delusional, Lane," he said, slamming on the brakes and pulling into a parking spot beside a small house. She frowned at him as he got out and slammed the car door, then came around to her side and yanked open the door, pulling her out.

"You know what, Lane? You are a pain in my ass. You've been a pain in my ass since the moment we met. However, let me point out something that should be very obvious to you. Why in the hell would I put my own life at risk by rigging a goddamn elevator or getting shot at just to take advantage of you? Why the hell would I even need to since the moment I kissed you in that elevator I had you practically begging for it?"

"Oh, in your dreams, Luthor," she shot back. "If you ask me, you're the one who's delusional if you think for one second that I would ..."

She didn't have a chance to say anything else as his mouth took hers in a hard kiss. She felt his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and wrapped her own arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.

It took a while for her to realise he had pulled away. He smirked at her.

"In my dreams, huh?"

He let her go and began walking up the path to the house, leaving her staring open-mouthed at him.

XXXXX

Clark whistled to himself as he walked up the two steps to the porch, ready to knock on the door. Okay, he admitted he was feeling more than a little smug, since this was the second time he'd kissed Lois and she had demonstrated she was more than willing.

He was mentally berating himself for the stupid mistake. He'd only put on the limp to cover himself, thinking if she noticed his absence while Superman was apprehending the gunman she might put two and two together. One of the only good things he'd learned from his father – Lionel, that was – was the art of misdirection.

The last thing he wanted to do was blame Lane for it, but the truth was, he was more worried about making sure she was safe than in keeping up appearances. Damn her and her attention to detail, he thought. He supposed that was what made her a good reporter.

He knocked on the door and frowned as it swung open. Lois came up behind him, also frowning.

"That's weird," she said.

Together they entered. Clearly something had gone wrong because the house looked like it had been ransacked. Lois went to investigate one room while Clark went to investigate another. He switched on the light. The occupants seemed to have packed in a hurry.

As he glanced at the mantelpiece, he saw a photograph. The man in the photo was Earl Jenkins and it had clearly been taken in happier times as he was smiling, his arm around a beautiful woman with dark skin. She was definitely not the same woman he'd met earlier.

Lois was right about one thing. It had been a set-up, but it had been for both of them. Which begged the question: Who? And what were they trying to cover up by getting rid of two journalists?

He continued to look around, spotting a wastebasket. He glanced at the contents and saw a padded envelope. Picking it up, he realised it had been addressed to Earl. The return address was someone in Smallville. Great, he sighed, then began to analyse the situation. Clearly the person hadn't realised Earl and his wife were separated, otherwise they never would have sent the package to Belinda's home.

The other question was, what had happened to Belinda? Why had she fled in such a hurry?

He heard a cough behind him and turned to see Lois standing in the doorway. She looked upset.

"Uh ... you know, I was just thinking, um, with all this craziness, I might drop the story."

"Lois?"

She seemed to be tearful.

"I mean, this is a big story, don't get me wrong, but I kind of think I got in over my head here. I really don't like getting shot at, you know?"

"Well, yeah, I know what you mean," he said. "It's not something you come across every day."

"Unless you're Superman," she said with a weak grin.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"So, um, do you think you could drop me back at my car? I want to get to the hospital. I called Ollie, but he's not answering. I guess he didn't have his phone on." She handed him back his phone. "Thanks."

Why did he have the feeling she wasn't being totally straight with him? From what he'd heard about Lois Lane, she didn't drop anything, especially a story as big as this was turning out to be, in spite of the murder attempt they'd faced tonight.

"I'm sorry your phone got broken," he said, deciding to be civil in spite of his scepticism. "Um, I'll replace it for you."

"You don't have to do that," she said.

"I insist," he replied.

They left the house together and he drove in silence back uptown. He double parked next to her car and waited, making sure she got to her car safely.

"I guess I'll see you at the hospital," he said.

"Yeah, see you."

XXXXX

Lois watched him go, then put her car in gear, ready to drive off, chuckling to herself. He clearly didn't know her very well if he'd fallen for her crocodile tears back at the house. There was no way she was going to drop the story, not now it had got even bigger than she thought.

While Clark had been in the other room, she had found an old newspaper scrunched up in a wastebasket in the living room. The paper had been the Smallville Ledger from about three weeks earlier. An article had been clearly clipped out. She had decided that as soon as she was able to get back to base, she would try and find the article.

The last thing she had wanted was for Clark to beat her again with a lead, or send her on yet another wild goose chase, so she had decided to act as if she wanted to bow out, hoping that would throw him off the scent.

She drove back to the paper. There were a couple of overnighters working, manning the information phone lines, so she was able to get in without any problems. Lois accessed the newspaper archive, but the Star had only recently archived its own editions. There were no other papers in the digital archives and the hard copy files had nothing either.

She sighed. It looked like she would have to make a trip to Smallville.

Packing up, she left the office and headed over to the hospital. Clark was sitting on one of the plastic chairs in the waiting room, looking very uncomfortable. The chairs weren't exactly made for someone of his height and stature, she thought. Hell, they could have been a kids' chair the way he fit.

He looked up at her, frowning.

"What took so long?" he asked.

She tilted her head and smirked at him.

"Why? Were you worried about me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Right. By the way, Dan Turpin called. He wants to talk to you in the morning."

"He a friend of yours?"

"Yes," he said shortly.

The door to Chloe's room opened and Oliver came out, looking extremely tired.

"Hey guys."

"How's it going in there?" Lois asked, giving her friend a quick hug.

"About as good as can be expected, I guess. She managed to get a little bit of sleep, but the doc says ..." He looked behind him through the partially open door. "Okay, looks like somebody's ready for his debut." He grinned tiredly. "I'm just gonna ..." He headed back in.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened again and a doctor came out. An orderly was pushing the bed before him. Oliver walked alongside, holding Chloe's hand tightly. She smiled weakly at them as she passed.

"I'll see you soon."

"Good luck Chloe," Clark told her. "You'll do great."

Lois sent her cousin and her in-law an encouraging smile. Oliver looked not only worn out but very nervous. Chloe seemed a little nervous as well, which was understandable, she supposed. She continued to watch as her cousin was taken to the delivery suite.

"You ever think about having kids?" Clark asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm kind of busy trying to keep my career going, you know?"

"I heard your boss can be an ass. Why do you stay?"

"You know how competitive it is out there," she said. "It's hard to get a job anywhere."

"But you're good, Lois. You're too good for the Star."

She grinned at him. "What's this? A compliment from Clark Luthor?"

He grinned back at her. "Yeah, don't let it go to your head Lane."

There was a silence between them for a few moments. She shifted, thrusting her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"You think I should work at the Planet?"

"Why not? You're better than some of the others there. Even me," he said with a self-deprecating grin.

"Don't try the ol' Luthor charm on me," she told him. "It won't work."

He shrugged. "Worth a shot."

"I did think about trying for a position at the Planet. Do you think Perry would give me a chance?"

"I don't see why not."

"I'm not so sure I want to work for a Luthor-owned company," she said.

His expression darkened. "Yet you were willing enough to practically worship at the feet of my brother."

"I was trying to get an interview. I was this close until you ..."

"Until I what? Saved your bacon? I told you, Lois, you really don't want to mess with Lex."

"Why? Tell me, is he really so bad?"

"You really don't want to go there."

"Come on, Clark, you can't just say something like that without something to back it up."

He sighed heavily.

"All right. When I was a kid, Lex was sent to Excelsior. He was smarter than a lot of the kids his age and he was bullied for it. Not to mention the fact that he was bald.

"Sounds like I should be feeling sorry for him, not steering clear."

"I wasn't done. When I was nine, I was also at Excelsior. That's how I met Oliver. He's ashamed to admit now that he was one of the ringleaders of the bullying, but one day it went too far. I don't know all the gory details, but I do know that Lex went completely nuts. For Oliver, it was pretty much a wake-up call and he just wasn't the same after that. Started drinking and ... well, a lot of stuff happened, but he did tell me that after what Lex did, he was afraid Lex would turn on him. He used to tell me that he couldn't believe I was raised in the same house because we're two different people."

"So Lex has a temper. Everyone does."

"You know what, fine. If you want to believe that Lex is a perfect angel, you go right ahead. I know I'm not perfect, and I never claimed to be, but I'm telling you, he's not as good as you seem to think he is."

"Well, I'd rather be the judge on that."

She figured a change of subject was in order and tried to think of something else while they lapsed into another uncomfortable silence.

"So, what did you think about that story on the NFL player last week?" Clark asked finally.

"The one about the player suspended because he was arrested for assaulting someone? Yeah, I think they should be held accountable. I mean, people look at them as their heroes."

"So if Superman did something like that, you think he should also be held accountable?"

"Well, I'm not saying that Superman would ever do something like that, but yes, if he has done something bad, he should own up to it. Like I say though. Superman wouldn't."

"Why?"

"Because he's Superman. He's too good."

"You don't know that," he said, smiling as if he knew a secret she didn't. "He might have some deep, dark past that he's kept hidden."

They were just getting into a philosophical argument when Oliver came down the corridor, beaming. He was holding a small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.

"I want you guys to be the first to meet Jonas Robert Queen."


	6. Chapter 6

Clark was the first to approach his friend and look at the tiny boy in Oliver's arms. His friend looked very much the proud father.

"How's Chloe?" Lois asked over Clark's shoulder.

"She's tired, but doing great. They'll be moving her to a room in a few minutes. I just couldn't wait for you to see him. Isn't he beautiful?"

Clark bit his lip to keep from laughing at his friend's indulgent tone. He could understand, he supposed but what he saw in front of him was definitely not beautiful. The infant was red, his little face screwed up as if he was not at all happy to be out of the warm, quiet place inside his mother. Still, Oliver didn't need to hear that.

"He's beautiful," Lois agreed, shooting Clark a look. He just nodded his own agreement.

"So why Jonas?" Clark asked, knowing it was his friend's middle name.

"Well, I suggested Gabriel, after her dad, but she wanted Jonas. If we have a girl next, I think I'll insist on Gabrielle."

"I've just had one and he's thinking of more already?" Chloe piped up, grinning tiredly.

The orderly was pushing the bed along the corridor and they followed as Chloe was taken to a private room. Once she was settled in the bed, she reached her arms out for her baby.

"Gimme," she said.

Oliver gently handed his son over. "You okay, sweetheart?"

"I'm tired," she told him.

"I know," he said sympathetically, brushing her blonde hair off her face and kissing her forehead. "I'm so proud of you."

"Well, you helped a little," she told him.

Clark grinned as he watched the loving looks between husband and wife. Before Oliver had met and married Chloe, he'd played the field and earned the reputation of a hard-partying womaniser. Falling in love with the blonde had been the best thing that had ever happened to Oliver. She had tamed his wild ways and turned him into a loving husband and now a loving father.

He glanced at Lois, who was also watching the scene with a little smile on her face. She seemed to sense him watching and frowned slightly at him. Clark made a show of looking at his watch. It was well after four in the morning.

"Wow, it's late," he said unnecessarily. "I think I'll leave you three to get some rest."

Oliver barely glanced up from his family.

"Thanks Clark," he said. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Hey, don't worry about anything. You just enjoy your new family."

He approached the bed and kissed Chloe on the cheek.

"Congratulations," he said. "He really is beautiful."

Chloe smiled up at him, then back down at her son, gently stroking his little cheek, rocking him slightly as he fussed. He yawned, which set both parents off.

"I should get going too, Chloe. I'll call you later when you've had a chance to get some rest."

Clark held the door open so Lois could slip through as soon as she'd hugged her cousin and in-law goodbye. Oliver was already curling up on the double bed beside his wife, his finger caught in the grip of his tiny son's.

Lois shoved her hands in her pockets as he quietly closed the door.

"Well, uh, I guess I'll be seeing you on the front page," she said.

"Yeah. You sure you're going to be able to get home okay?"

"I'll be fine," she said.

"Well, let me walk you to your car anyway," he said. "If the guy who attacked us is still out there ..."

She looked surprised, but nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

Clark walked with her to where her car was parked and waited until she drove away, then got in his own car, driving home.

A light was blinking on his phone telling him he had a message. Or half a dozen he thought, sighing. He glanced in the tank where his snake appeared to be sleeping. He'd always wanted one but had never been allowed pets as a child. Lionel hadn't believed in 'attachments'. The owner of the pet store had advised against getting the boa constrictor because he'd never owned a snake before, even though it was only young and not even fully-grown, but Clark knew he could handle it.

Not wanting to disturb his pet and make it really annoyed at him, he walked away and picked up the phone to access his voicemail. All the calls were from Lex wanting to know where the hell he was and to call him.

So Clark called him. His brother was not happy.

"What the hell, Clark? It's five in the morning! Where the hell have you been all night?"

"Well, for one, the hospital."

"The hospital? What did you do this time?"

"Nothing, thank you very much. Chloe had her baby."

Lex huffed. He and Chloe had never got along and it was worse now that she was married to his worst enemy.

"That still doesn't explain why you were out all night."

"Lex, I don't answer to you."

"You do when I have a board meeting and you're not there."

Clark had forgotten about the meeting, which was supposed to have been at six the night before. It shouldn't have even worried Lex that he wasn't there, since he had little say in the workings of the company and the board wouldn't have needed his vote. Which made him think his brother was fishing for something.

"You know, in case you've forgotten, Lex, I actually have a real job where I don't sit on my ass all day. I had an interview to get to."

"Oh, right. Your little story," his brother said disdainfully.

"It's not a little story, considering Lois and I could have been killed last night."

His brother didn't sound in the least concerned.

"It's not like you're, you know, not Superman. You're invulnerable."

"That is not the point, Lex. You know what? I'm not gonna argue with you. I don't care about Luthorcorp."

"Well you will care when you hear that Galaxy Communications is making a bid for the Daily Planet."

"Isn't that Edge's company?" he asked.

"So now you're interested?"

"Edge is as much of a crook as Dad was. Probably even worse."

They had found out a few years earlier that Lionel and Morgan Edge had been friends as teenagers. While they could never actually prove it, they were sure that Edge had been behind Intergang. They were also sure that he and Lionel had cooked up a scheme to kill Lionel's parents for their life insurance. Again, they hadn't been able to get the proof they needed.

"Well, that's neither here nor there," Lex said, sounding miffed. "Next time I ask you to be at a board meeting you damn well better be there, Clark." He hung up abruptly, leaving Clark to stare at the phone in disbelief.

He called Bruce.

"You know, bats are nocturnal," his friend complained good-naturedly.

"Sorry if I woke you up."

"You kidding? I haven't even been to bed yet," the Wayne scion laughed. "What's up?"

"I figured you'd want to know Ollie's a dad."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Mother and baby both doing great. Oliver's over-the-moon."

"As he would be. So I imagine we'll be wetting the baby's head at Watchtower in a few days."

"I guess. Oh, Lex just told me Morgan Edge's company Galaxy Communications is making a bid for the Planet."

"So I heard."

Clark frowned. "Hey, wait, I only just heard about it and according to Lex it was announced at the board meeting last night. How did you know about it?"

"How do I know everything, kid?"

"Don't call me kid," he growled half-heartedly.

"Compared to this old geezer, you are a kid," his friend teased.

"You're Lex's age," he said. "So if you're an old geezer, what does that make Lex?"

"Hmm, good point. Anyway, don't worry about Galaxy Communications. Word is another company might be putting its hat in the ring."

Clark frowned again, wondering what that meant. He was sure he'd find out eventually.

XXXXX

Lois fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow but was up around nine the next morning, despite the late hour. Since she wasn't due back on deck until noon, thanks to the late meeting the night before, she was able to spend a little time catching up on some personal stuff and getting a run around the park in.

She found herself thinking about Clark. He had surprised her, not only with the way he'd offered to walk her to her car, but with the conversation they'd had while Chloe had been in the delivery room. He'd shown himself not only to be fairly intelligent, but also a man who was funny and charming, without any pretensions whatsoever. It was that most of all which had surprised her, considering who he'd been raised by.

At first she'd thought his warning her away from Lex was from jealousy, but she realised now that he was trying to protect her, in a way. She had a feeling he wasn't telling her the whole story about his brother and she got the impression there actually wasn't a lot of love lost between them. It was like her and her sister Lucy. Lois might have been considered the trouble-maker when she was a teenager, for all the rebelling she did against her father's rules, but Lucy had proven herself more than worthy of the title for a while there.

As Lois had told Chloe once, you can love your family without really liking them. She did love her sister, but they had never really been friends. At least, not until Lucy had started seeing Jimmy Olsen. He was a clean-cut kid who tended to wear goofy bow-ties with sleeveless sweaters and it seemed he had a way of calming her sister.

She came to the conclusion she might just have been mistaken about Clark. He had made a very good point the night before when he'd suggested he didn't need a near-death experience for her to kiss him. The truth was, she'd rather liked kissing him. Maybe it was just a plot device, but his kisses were like the foot-popping kisses she'd seen on a couple of romantic comedies. Not that she was a chick-flick kind of girl. She was more of an action movie kind of girl.

As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew she was falling for Clark Luthor. Which meant she was in a heck of a lot of trouble.

Yep, she thought later as she sat down at her desk. I'm in deep crud up to my neck, but I'm not the only one. She examined the contents of the package which had been special-couriered early that morning. Somebody must have been up very early, she decided as she looked at the top-of-the-line smart-phone. She'd seen the version she was holding in an online catalogue and had dismissed it, thinking there was no way she could afford it.

Clark had not only sent her a new phone, but it was fully charged and all she had to do was activate it by calling the customer service line. Chewing on her bottom lip, Lois made the necessary call, only to discover that Clark had gone even further by making sure that her account not only had all the bells and whistles but all expenses were charged to him. He must have really known someone high up in the phone company, she thought, because they weren't supposed to even give out personal information, let alone add a perfect stranger to her account. Not that he was a stranger by any means, but still ...

She called his number, discovering to her chagrin that it was number one on her speed dial.

"Um, thanks, for the phone," she said hesitantly. "You didn't have to do all that."

"Well, I kind of felt bad that your other phone was broken."

"It's not your fault someone tried to kill us," she said.

She thought he might make some comment about the things she had accused him of but he didn't.

"So, I was wondering. Did you want to maybe meet up for lunch? I mean, purely business. I thought we could, you know, talk a little more about that thing we were discussing last night."

"What thing?" she asked.

"About you getting a job here. I mean, I'm not saying I could influence it in any way. I'm just barely in the chief's good books, but I meant what I said. You're way too good for that place."

"I believe you. I'd like to, really, but I have another story I'm chasing and, you know, I'd like to at least keep the job I do have."

He sounded disappointed. "Oh. Okay. Maybe another day then."

"Sure," she said. "Um, I better get to work. Thanks, again."

A message left on her desk a short while later reminded her that Dan Turpin needed to talk to her about the things that had happened the night before. Her boss could be heard yelling at one of the interns and she decided it was a good time to make herself scarce.

When she arrived at the station, Turpin was already at the front desk.

"Lane, I was just thinking about you," the blond detective said.

"Really. You psychic?"

"Come on back," he said, handing her a visitor's pass.

She followed him through the bullpen, or maybe that should be the lion's den, she thought as she glanced at the uniformed officers. There were more men present than women and they all turned to stare at her. She heard a wolf-whistle and turned to glare at the offender.

"Careful Rodrigeuz. She bites."

The young officer he'd addressed just grinned wolfishly. Lois rolled her eyes. He reminded her a little of Clark, without the good looks and the 'Luthor charm'.

"Lane!" Turpin snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Stop day-dreaming and hop to it."

She mock-saluted him. "Sir! Yes sir!"

He held the interview room door open for her and closed it after she entered. She sat down.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"What?"

"I know that look, Lane. It's the kind of look I see when I catch one of my female colleagues day-dreaming. Especially when it's about a guy. Let me guess. One guy with the initials C.L."

"What? Don't be ridiculous!"

"How is it ridiculous when I hear practically the same words coming out of Luthor's mouth?"

"I do not ..." She began protesting that she did not have a thing for Clark, but Turpin clearly didn't believe her.

"You know what? Fine. You both want to play that game, it's nothing to do with me. Anyway, down to business. I need your statement on what happened last night."

She answered his questions as succinctly as she could, watching as he wrote everything down, then told her to read over what he'd written, sign it and date it.

"So, has our guy talked?" she asked.

"Not yet. We do think he was connected to the deaths of those two kids the other night."

"Oh. Good. I mean, not good about the kids, but good you have a suspect in custody."

"I know what you meant. I suppose it's pointless telling you to stay out of trouble?"

"Trouble's my middle name," she said with a grin.

"Yeah, you're definitely trouble with a capital T, Lane. About as bad as Luthor."

"Are you two friends?" she asked, trying to be nonchalant.

"Yeah, we are. Why?"

"Well, I was kind of curious. I mean, he's a rich guy. You two would hardly move in the same circles."

"You'd be surprised," he told her, making it clear his friendship with Clark was none of her business.

Lois shrugged. "Fine. I get it." She stood up. "Anything else?"

"No. And Lane ..."

"Yeah, I know. Don't leave town."

She lifted her handbag to her shoulder and left the interview room, moving quickly past the officers and out the door.

Not wanting to go back to the office, Lois decided it was a good day for a drive to Smallville. As soon as she saw who was waiting for her on the main street, she knew there would be trouble.

XXXXX

Clark glared at Lane as she walked along the main street toward the small office of the Smallville Ledger. What the hell was she doing there?

She stopped walking and glared back at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.

"Probably the same thing you are. That was quite the performance last night, Lane. I almost believed you."

"Too much?" she asked, suddenly grinning.

He grinned back. "Yeah, the crocodile tears were probably just a little over-the-top."

"So ..." she said.

"Oh, by the way, our friend last night ... he's a pro."

"How do you know that? When I talked to Turpin a couple of hours ago he said the guy hadn't talked."

Clark had already asked Bruce to look into it, since his friend seemed to have access to resources that even the Metropolis PD didn't seem to have. He normally would have asked Chloe, but she was of course on leave. It definitely wasn't the same guy who had rigged the train. That much had been established. Bruce was also trying to track that man using the information Oliver had managed to send him while Clark had dashed off to pick up Chloe.

"I have friends in, uh, low places," he told her. Well, he supposed he could call the bat cave 'low'. "Look, Lane, it's obvious we're chasing the same lead, so maybe we should just tell each other what we know."

"I don't have to tell you anything," she returned, looking a little aggravated. "I'm your competition, remember?"

"Don't be petulant, Lane."

"I'm not being petulant. I just don't want to work with you."

He studied her. "Why? Afraid I might actually beat you at something?"

"Oh you've got a long way to go before you can do that, Luthor."

He stepped toward her, allowing a woman walking along the street to pass them, practically forcing Lois up against the brick wall of the store they'd been arguing in front of.

"Maybe you're afraid of something else. Like maybe I'm getting too close."

She arched an eyebrow at him and smirked.

"You think I'm afraid?"

"You know your problem, Lane? You refuse to admit you might actually feel something because you think it makes you vulnerable."

"Is that so?" she asked, glowering.

"Yeah, that's so."

"Well, you want to know what I think? I think you're an arrogant, obnoxious spoiled rich kid with too much time on your hands. You're so full of yourself you think every woman you meet is just going to swoon at your feet. Ever wonder if what you think is attraction might actually be revulsion?"

"You saying you're repulsed by me, Lane? That's not what I felt last night."

"You are way off the mark," she told him.

"Really?" he said, his hands on her waist. She was trying to resist but her resolve was weakening.

He pulled her closer, lowering his lips until they were a mere inch from hers, deliberately holding back. She was looking up at him, her eyes wide, her breathing shallow. He could hear her heart beating faster than normal. Either he was making her angry or he was getting to her.

Lois suddenly grabbed his shirt front and pulled, closing the gap between them. He let her control the kiss, not even resisting as she thrust her tongue in between. He lost himself in the kiss, his world narrowing only to the feel of her body against his, the sweetness of her lips, the delicate notes of her perfume.

She pulled away gently.

"God, you drive me crazy," she said breathlessly.

He wanted to feel smug, but the truth was he was feeling just as shell-shocked as she looked. Kissing her was like the first time he had conquered flying. It was exhilarating.

He suddenly noticed they had an audience. It was just a little kid, maybe about four years old. He was standing a few feet away, watching them, while sucking on a lollipop. His eyes widened as he realised Clark had seen him.

Clark took Lois' arm and guided her down the street to the Smallville Ledger. She didn't comment until they were inside the office.

"What was that for?"

"Look, maybe you don't want to work with me but I think we should pool our information and try and solve this thing. I mean, somebody seems to be going to a lot of trouble to try and cover this up, especially if they have no qualms about killing off two reporters ..."

She sighed. "You're right, you're right. I guess if we stick together we can back each other up. So what do you have?"

He told her about the empty package he'd found in the house the night before. He'd gone to the address on the envelope only to find that the house had been burnt to the ground. The neighbour he'd talked to had told him the owner had been killed in the fire. Clark had decided to check out the newspaper and see if the story could shed any more light on what had happened.

Lois told him she had found a copy of the Smallville Ledger, but the story had been clipped out. Clark wondered if it was the same story.

They searched through the newspapers and found the paper in question, quickly locating the story. Clark's guess had been right. It had been about the fire. The house owner, a James Peterson, had been a lab technician at Luthorcorp. His last known project had been something called Project Ceres.

Lois blinked. "What's Ceres?"

Clark studied her for a moment, but continued reading. The project claimed to be developing a formula which would help crops grow even in the harshest of soils. The formula contained a secret ingredient known only to a select few.

The Smallville fire volunteers believed the fire had been started by a faulty electrical point, but Clark wondered if it had been rigged somehow. The county coroner's office had released an official cause of death as asphyxiation from smoke.

As they left the office, Clark noticed Lois was quiet. He pulled her into the alley.

"All right. What are you keeping from me?"

She looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw the way you reacted to the name of the project. You know something."

"You're delusional, Luthor," she said defensively, clearly hoping to throw him off the scent.

"What do you know, Lane?" He shook her, just hard enough to annoy her.

"I told you, I don't know anything."

He huffed loudly. "You know what? Fine. So much for our little truce. You just go right ahead Lane and do what you want. Don't expect me to come save your ass if you get into trouble."

He started to walk away, hearing Lois shifting nervously.

"Okay, okay," she said. He turned back and looked at her.

"The night of Lex's fundraiser, I got a call from a kid who said he had something for me. He told me he'd stolen some things from the train wreck and he'd come across something he thought I'd be interested in. He wanted to sell it to me."

Clark remembered Dan Turpin telling him this, but he let her go on.

"By the time I got to the address he gave me, he and his friend were dead. But he managed to write something on his hand. Just a word, or part of one at least. C.E.R. I thought it was an acronym or something."

"That's it?"

She shrugged. "That's it."

"And you didn't see anything that might point to a reason he and his friend were killed?"

She shook her head. Clark sighed. They had a lead, but they had no idea what it meant.


	7. Chapter 7

They decided to sit down in the local coffee shop and go over what they had so far. Lois pulled out her new phone and began a search of some kind of meaning behind the project.

"So, Ceres is like the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain crops," she said, showing Clark the screen after they'd ordered their coffees.

"Which is actually appropriate given that the project was supposed to be run out of Luthorcorp Plant number three," he said.

Luthorcorp had started primarily as an agricultural company. Lionel had bought a failing creamed corn factory and turned it into a fertiliser plant. The corporation had diversified since then, focusing more on developing weapons technology, but the fertiliser plant was still open in Smallville.

"What were they trying to achieve?"

"I think that's something that we'd need to ask Lex," he said. She watched as he pulled out his own phone and dialled a number. "Claire, it's Clark. Do you think you can talk to Lex's assistant and see if we can book a meeting? Yeah, I know, but this is business." He rolled his eyes. "I'm well aware of that, Claire. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Thanks."

He hung up and looked at her. "Claire's going to see what she can do."

"Claire?"

"My assistant," he said, glancing at the waitress who smiled at him as she put the coffees down on the table. To his credit, Clark didn't seem to pay her much attention other than a polite nod and answering smile. Nothing flirtatious at all about it, Lois thought.

"Nice that you actually have your own assistant," she said, almost snidely.

"Claire is much more than that."

"Oh?" she said, cocking an eyebrow at him. Were they dating? Or sleeping together?

Clark canted his head, then sipped his coffee.

"I know what you're thinking, Lane, and no, it's not like that. For one thing, she's engaged."

"I'm sure that wouldn't stop you," she returned, then chewed on her lip at his scowl. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that."

"I'm not my brother," he told her, sounding offended, even hurt, that she would suggest such a thing.

Lois frowned at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Look, Lex is a lot like Lionel. I mean, Lionel had affairs all the time."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know Lex has got like a half-sister," she said.

"As well as a half-brother. Lucas. Who, by the way, lives in Edge City and is far better off for being there than here."

"Why? Was it really that bad?"

"If you knew half the things that went on, you wouldn't want to be within a hundred yards of a Luthor."

"Give me some examples."

"All right, why don't I start with Lex. A few years ago, he started changing. I mean, before, he was a good guy and we used to be on pretty good terms. Now ..." He sighed. "Well, anyway, Lex started sleeping with random women. He'd have a one-night stand with them and stick around long enough to learn their names and where he could send diamond earrings the next day. So, there was this girl. Shannon. She was engaged to be married and she dumped her fiancé for Lex, not realising that he was only in it for the sex. He certainly didn't love her. Shannon went off the deep end and she first tried to frame Lex for murder and then tried to kill him."

Lois got the impression Clark was disgusted by his brother's behaviour.

"What was it really like, growing up together?"

"Well, Lex started Excelsior when he was eight or nine and I was adopted when he was nine, so he wasn't around much my first couple of years at home."

"I don't get why someone like Lionel would adopt you though and leave his other kids begging."

Clark bit his lip, but shrugged.

"Who knows? I do remember that he was always pretty hard on Lex."

"Why? I mean, what did Lex ever do to deserve that?"

"Lionel was the kind of man who saw imperfections and flaws as a weakness. I mean, Lex lost his hair in the meteor shower and Lionel saw that as an affliction. A disability, I guess. Like it made Lex less of a man."

"That is so stupid," she said. "Baldness doesn't make a guy less of a man, anymore than a flat chest makes a woman less so. It's attitude!"

"I wish I could say you're right but unfortunately when it comes to business, they do judge people's strengths based on their appearance. I mean, there's a reason why the most attractive actors and models become some of the most successful. It certainly has nothing to do with their actual ability."

"So why didn't you follow Lex into business? I mean, with your looks ..."

"Because I wanted to make a difference. I don't care about business, Lois. I care about making sure the little guy isn't stepped on because of people like Lionel."

She had heard rumours for years that Lionel had made his money off the backs of others. That he was nothing more than a glorified con artist who had swindled people out of their savings and their homes.

"Why does it matter to you so much?" she asked him. "I mean, you're rich, you're a good-looking guy. You don't even need to work." She didn't want to bring up the little matter of the plagiarised column, even if he'd plagiarised his own work.

"I admit that for a long time I took the easy way out. I cheated where I could get away with it. I'm not proud of that," he told her. "But maybe what happened is a good thing because I wouldn't have gone after this story if I hadn't been in fear of losing my job."

A job he'd been practically handed by his adoptive father, she thought, but that was neither here nor there. Besides, he was certainly earning his stripes now.

His phone rang and he answered it.

"Claire? Yeah? Great! Thanks!"

He hung up and looked at her. "Lex just happens to be here in Smallville. At the mansion. I guess he had some business to attend to at the plant."

They quickly finished their coffees and left the shop. Clark had borrowed a car from the Daily Planet pool, claiming he didn't really like to show off when he was working. Lois figured since he knew where he was going, she might as well go with him.

A butler, or whatever he was, waited by the huge front door as Clark pulled up in the SUV. Lois followed him inside.

"Mr Luthor," the man said, his tone almost snide. Clark glowered at him. "Lex in the study?" he asked.

"Yes. Sir."

"Don't bother to show us the way," Clark said, not even deigning to address the man by his name.

Lois wondered if there had always been that underlying hostility between Clark and the butler. It certainly seemed like there was some history.

"He's kind of rude," she said in a low voice as she followed Clark through the house.

"He's always hated me. I guess it didn't help that I was a snot-nosed little brat when I was fourteen."

"You?" she said, arching her eyebrow with mock incredulity.

"Yeah, laugh it up, Lane," he said, chuckling.

Lois had always loved a man who could laugh at himself and Clark seemed to be no exception. She had to admit that while he still could be arrogant at times, he was at least willing to admit to his faults.

Lex smiled at them, coming out from behind his desk as they entered what Lois assumed was the study, although it seemed to be more than that. There were two leather couches sitting opposite each other on the left side of the room near the fire. A narrow spiral staircase led up to a mezzanine floor where Lois could see about half a dozen bookshelves.

She looked back at the bald man. Now that she knew some of Lex's history, she saw his smile as false; something he used only when he wanted to charm someone or distract them from their real purpose. It reminded her of the smile of a predator. There was no doubt Lex was a good-looking man but the looks were only a facade if what Clark had told her was true.

"Clark, I was surprised when your assistant called and asked for a meeting."

"Well, something came up in the story we were working on and I wanted to ask you about it."

Lex arched an eyebrow at the word 'we' and glanced at Lois.

"Miss Lane? I must say I'm very pleasantly surprised to see you here."

Lois decided to pour on the charm.

"Well, any opportunity to talk to you again is a plus in my book."

"Why don't I have Raines order us some coffee and we can sit and make ourselves comfortable," he said, gesturing toward the leather couches.

Lois sat beside Clark, close enough to feel the tension in his body. She wanted to tell him to relax but figured it wouldn't do much good. Clark was talking pleasantly enough to his brother, but the hostility was coming off him in waves.

"So, what were you wanting to know?"

"Project Ceres," Clark told him. "We were curious about it."

"Well, I'm guessing if you've read about it, you'd know that we were studying ways to improve crop yield in harsh soil. We believe we're very close to a successful trial."

"So there's nothing, uh, unusual about it?" Lois asked, wondering why a project which sounded like a good thing would prompt someone to commit murder.

Lex looked surprised at the question.

"I only see the reports from the scientists working on the project. I actually have no first-hand knowledge of the project. What's going on, guys?"

"Nothing," Clark said.

"What does this have to do with your story?"

"It just came up in passing," Lois told him. "We just figured it was better to check out all leads, even if they turn out to be dead-ends."

He nodded, seeming to understand completely.

"Of course. You must be thorough. I am curious though. It has to be something big if both the Star and the Daily Planet are in bed together on it."

Clark glared at his brother and probably would have kicked him if Lex had been close enough.

"I wouldn't say we're exactly in bed together," she replied.

Lex smirked. "Good," he said, looking her up and down. Lois suppressed the urge to shudder in revulsion at the way he seemed to leer at her.

"Look, why don't you two stay for dinner? Hell, stay overnight if you want to. It's a long drive back to the city. I'll get Raines to tell the maid to prepare some rooms for you."

"Uh, I don't know, Lex," Clark said.

"I'd love to," Lois said quickly, not giving Clark time to turn down the invitation. She figured it would give her a chance to do a little snooping.

Raines seemed to be even more hostile toward Clark as he was informed that they would be staying overnight, giving him icy looks. Clark looked back at the man as if daring him to say something or do something inappropriate. Lex continued to flirt with her through dinner, much to Clark's annoyance, but Lois didn't let it bother her. Besides, she thought, it wasn't as if they were a couple. Not that she was looking to date Lex; not after what Clark had told her.

She called her editor from her room.

"Lane, where the hell are you?"

"Smallville. We're staying at Lex Luthor's place."

"We?"

"Uh, me and ... a friend," she said, not wanting to let him know she was actually working with the competition.

"What the hell are you doing there?"

"Lex invited us. Uh, anyway, we were investigating this guy, Peterson. It turns out he knew Earl Jenkins, although we haven't figured out what the connection is, apart from the fact that they both worked at the Luthorcorp fertiliser plant."

"Did you talk to this guy?"

"Well, no. He's dead. He was killed in a fire about a week before the train crash."

She told him about the project but he didn't think it sounded all that promising.

"Keep me posted," he said.

Lois hung up and opened the doors to the balcony, stepping out to look out over the gardens. The Luthor estate was huge, bordered by huge stone walls and an iron gate. Just below her window was a narrow path lit by ornate lamps. As she leaned on the rail, she heard voices drift up. It sounded like Clark and Lex were in the study.

XXXXX

"I'm warning you, Lex. Stay away from her."

Clark stood, one hand on his pool cue as he watched his brother line up a shot.

"Are you and Lane dating?"

"No."

"Then last time I checked, Clark, that made her a free agent."

"I mean it, Lex. Lois Lane isn't someone you want to toy with."

Lex took the shot and cursed as he missed. He straightened up and looked steadily at Clark.

"Getting a little territorial there, aren't we Clark? I thought you said you weren't dating her?"

Clark stared back at his brother, trying not to let on that his brother's flirting with Lois had unsettled him, or that Lex was getting a little too close to the mark. The truth was, he liked Lois. A lot. The last thing he wanted to do was let her get burned by his brother.

"Clark, I'm beginning to think there is a lot more to this than you're letting on."

"Lois Lane is a reporter. She's only interested in you for a story."

"Well, that's something that comes with the territory," Lex said philosophically. "You should know that."

He did know, but that didn't make his brother's actions any better for it.

"I still don't know why you're pursuing this little story."

"It isn't some little story, Lex. People have been killed and I need to know why."

"You know, this wouldn't have happened if you'd just listened to Dad."

"I wasn't going to be Lionel's puppet, Lex. I almost went down that road and I came way too close to losing myself."

For a long time, Lionel had tried to teach him to be ruthless, but Clark just hadn't been able to find it in him. Finally his adoptive father had developed a way to bring out Clark's darker instincts but when Clark had come close to killing someone while under the influence of red Kryptonite, he had scared himself so badly that he'd taken off to his Arctic fortress for six months. Through Jor-El, he had learned to control that darkness so even if he was again exposed to the meteor rock, he could stop himself from following that path.

Lex sighed. He had never understood why Clark wasn't interested in pursuing business, but then Lex had always been trying to please Lionel. The man's brand of parenting amounted to subjecting his children to tests to see if they were worthy of their status as Luthors. Tess had failed in her father's eyes but at least she had managed to get out. Lucas had also been found wanting, but then he'd been dumped in a foster home when he was three and left to fend for himself.

Lionel had compared it to stories of Caesars who would send their sons to some far flung corners of the Empire, expecting them to learn how the world worked. Lex had once remarked that the emperors feared their sons returning at the head of their own army. Neither Lex nor Clark had their own army, but Clark had the sense that Lionel had feared his power just the same, which was why he wanted to control him.

At least it seemed Lex had had the sense not to try controlling Clark, although there were times when Clark wondered if his brother was still trying to get his own way through manipulation. Still, he was an adult now, and what had once been naive hero worship for his big brother had turned into an awareness that Lex never showed his true face, not even to his baby brother.

Lex seemed to lose interest in the subject and they continued the game in relative silence. By the time Lex had sunk the last ball, it was late.

"I should get to bed," Clark told him.

His brother frowned at him, but said nothing. Clark had never been interested in the clubbing scene, unlike Lex, who, before he'd been exiled to what he had once so eloquently put as the 'crap factory', had been known to party until dawn. Since drugs and alcohol had never affected Clark, he just didn't see the attraction in staying out until all hours unless he was out patrolling. Another thing Lionel used to hate him for.

The room Raines had given him was right next to Lois' and had a connecting door. Clark tapped on the door. Lois opened it after a few moments. He could see a laptop on the bed and realised she'd been working.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was just ... I just, uh ... wanted to say goodnight."

Ugh, that was lame, he thought. Lois just smiled.

"Well, goodnight then. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

As if they would, he thought. He turned away, going to shower in the adjoining bathroom. A few minutes later he emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist. He heard the water going in the bathroom adjoining Lois' room. She'd clearly had the same idea.

Clark picked up his phone and called Perry.

"How's it going?" his boss asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure. What I do know is this. Earl Jenkins received a package from Peterson, only since he and his wife were separated, he probably didn't get it for a couple of days. Meantime, Peterson is killed in a fire at his house which the fire investigators think could be accidental."

"But given the circumstances, you don't think so," Perry replied.

"So Belinda must have called Earl and told him he had a package sent from Smallville. Whatever was in that package was enough for Earl to take the train bound for DC. Only for him to be killed in the crash."

"Sure are a lot of bodies dropping," Perry said. "What about Lex?"

"He doesn't have a clue, or so he says."

"You don't think so?"

"I don't know, Chief. I mean, I know Lex. I know when he's being evasive. I ..."

The water had shut off in the bathroom and he x-rayed through the wall. Lois was returning to the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her athletic figure.

"Still with me, kid?" Clark blinked, remembering where he was and mentally berating himself for checking Lois out through the wall.

"Uh yeah, Chief. Sorry, I zoned out for a second."

"So, what's next?"

"I think I should go check out the plant. See if I can talk to someone about Jenkins and Peterson."

"Well, keep me posted."

"Sure, Chief."

"And kid? Don't call me Chief."

Clark chuckled and hung up, placing the phone on the nightstand. He tossed his towel in the bathroom and strode naked to the bed, pulling back the covers and settling down.

Next morning, the maid brought in his freshly laundered clothing. Clark thanked her, a gesture which elicited a startled look from the woman. Clearly Lex never offered his staff the same courtesy.

He made his way downstairs, bumping into Lois, who was looking at a photograph on the table in the hallway. It was just a snapshot of him, Lex, Chloe and Lana taken the first summer Lex had been in Smallville. Clark had no idea why Lex had kept it but it reminded him of a more innocent time.

She smiled at him.

"You and Chloe have been friends for a long time," she said.

"Yeah. Since about seventh grade. She was always investigating something. Lionel thought it was funny for a while until she started digging into things at Luthorcorp that he didn't want getting out. Not that it was anything, um, unethical. She just managed to nearly spill the beans on a project they were working on and he didn't want his competitors getting hold of it."

"I remember when she first told me she was being made to move to Smallville. She said she had no idea what she was supposed to do out in the sticks."

"She found plenty to keep her occupied. I mean, I was still at Excelsior, but Lex used to tell me stories."

"What happened between you and Lex? I mean, by the looks of this photo, you seemed to be all right, but now it's like you're both teetering on the brink of World War Three."

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, when I was a teenager I guess I had a little bit of hero worship going on. Lex is six and a half years older than me, so, I mean, when you're a kid, that's a huge gap."

"So what changed?"

"We both did, I suppose. He became our father, in a lot of ways. More interested in business, whereas I didn't want anything to do with it. It certainly caused a lot of arguments between us."

"I kind of get where you're coming from. I mean, my sister and I don't get along at the best of times. I guess it doesn't help when my father sent her off to some boarding school while I was stuck living out of packing boxes and following him from one military assignment to another."

"That must have been rough," he said sympathetically. He couldn't imagine being forced to move every so often.

"You know that saying about the grass always being greener?"

"I'm guessing your sister thought you had it better, while you thought she got the better end of the deal."

"It caused a lot of issues."

Clark didn't have a chance to ask her more about it as Raines stepped into the hallway, giving him a disdainful look, before telling them that Lex had already left for work.

"Breakfast is served," he informed them flatly, shooting him a look which basically said he didn't like being inconvenienced. Lois snorted, clearly not liking the man.

"What's your problem?" she asked.

"Miss Lane?" Raines said.

"You've been giving us the 'if looks could kill' look since last night. I thought you were paid to be at Lex's beck and call and that extended to any guests."

"Mr Luthor isn't a guest," he said, looking straight at Clark.

"Well, I would think, since he's actually family, you would be a lot less rude," she told him.

"Lois, you don't have to ..."

She looked at him. He could tell she was annoyed by the way Raines kept glaring at him.

"I've known Mr Luthor a lot longer than you, Miss Lane. I could tell you stories about the things Mr Luthor would do when he was younger."

"I was a teenager, Raines," he said, finally defending himself. "I've grown up since then."

"You're still an obnoxious brat," the man said snidely.

Clark knew the real reason Raines was pissed off at him. The man was loyal to a fault, but only to Lex. He'd caught Clark snooping on more than one occasion, especially when there had been something Lex was trying to hide.

Lois began to lecture the man about common courtesy, but Clark cut her off at the pass, guiding her gently but firmly out onto the patio so they could eat breakfast.

As they sat down, she continued to rant about Raines. Clark buttered a croissant, trying to ignore her ranting, but it was hard to do when it was right in his ear.

"I mean, how rude can you get?" she was going on.

"Lois, just drop it."

"Don't you care?"

"Honestly? No, I don't. The fact is, he is paid to be at Lex's beck-and-call, not mine and I personally couldn't give a crap about Raines or anyone else who works for Lex. If they don't like me, that's their problem. I do like you jumping to my defence though."

Lois blushed.

"Well, I ... I mean, not that I'm saying I like you or anything like that, but I just think ..."

"I know what you think, but just because someone's paid to do something, it doesn't mean they're a robot or that they can't have feelings about it. You know, I hate when someone tells me to smile, especially when it's the last thing I want to do."

She chewed on her lip.

"Um, yeah, I kind of did a little digging and I came across this photo in the society pages. I think you were about eighteen and you were standing next to your father."

"What was it?"

"I don't know. Some charity thing."

Clark groaned quietly. He'd been forced to attend a lot of them when he was younger and Lionel had been alive. The elder Luthor had often gone to charity fundraisers, pretending it was all about philanthropy when it was really about his showing how much money he could afford to throw away. An added bonus was that people at those functions tended to talk too much and Lionel would always pick up some gossip about a competitor, which he would then use to his advantage. A lot of business deals resulted from those functions.

Of course, he'd always make Clark use his super-hearing to tune in on private conversations so he could get such information.

He remembered one such party he'd been forced to attend and it had been the last thing he'd wanted to do. He'd been planning on going out with Lana but had had to stand her up. She had not been happy about it. Lionel had already lectured him on it.

"Never let a social engagement take first place over business, Clark," he'd said.

God, how he'd hated it. Lex, at least, had managed to get out of them by pretending he had his own to attend, although he'd once confessed that when he was a kid he'd preferred to hide in coat closets. When he was older, the coat closets served a dual purpose. Clark had been ten when he'd caught his brother practically in-flagrante with a girl in the coat closet of the Luthor mansion. At least Lionel had found it amusing when Clark had told him.

This particular night, he was pissed off at his father and it must have showed on his face. Lionel had hissed at him.

"Smile, Clark. We don't want to give people the wrong impression, do we?"

"Was it really so bad, living with Lionel?" Lois asked when he related the story.

"It was okay when our mom was alive," he told her. "I mean, yeah, we'd have our fights but I could always turn to Mom and she could always make me feel better. When I was really little, when I first came to live with them, it was pretty tough at first. I used to have nightmares but Mom would always hold me in her arms and she'd sing to me."

"What did she sing?" Lois asked.

"Well, it wasn't lullabies." He chuckled. "No, there was, well, Mockingbird. She always loved Carly Simon so she used to sing that version, but there was this other song she got a big kick out of."

"What was it?"

"Shaddup Your Face."

Lois was laughing. "Really? There's a song called Shaddup Your Face? How did it go?"

"Well, I don't remember all of it, obviously but well ..." He thought for a second, then sang what he could remember from the chorus. Badly. He'd never been a good singer.

"Anyway, it came out when Lex was a baby, I think, and it didn't do all that well on the charts, but she always thought it was hilarious. I mean the guy used to sing it in an Italian accent, or supposedly. Never failed to make me laugh, especially because she'd make these faces when she sang it."

"Your mom sounds like an amazing lady."

"She was," he said wistfully.

"Was?"

"She died when I was eight. Lex was almost fifteen."

"I'm so sorry," she said. "My mom died when I was six." He could see her chewing on her lip. "Did you ever find your birth parents?"

"Yeah. Well, I found out what happened. They died when I was a toddler. A car accident. The police found me wandering in a cornfield in Smallville the day of the meteor shower and took me to the hospital. Lex was there at the same time and when my mom heard what happened, she convinced Lionel to adopt me."

At least, that was the official story Lionel had sold the papers. All for good PR, of course. Lionel had never given him the true version of events but he believed Lionel had known he was coming through Virgil Swann and he'd had men out searching for him during the meteor shower. Lionel had faked the adoption clearly thinking he could have another son to pass his legacy on to as well as using Clark's abilities to suit his ambition.

Lillian had fallen pregnant when Clark was about four, but had miscarried after only a few weeks. Lionel had been pissed, but Clark had learned years later that if Lillian had carried the baby to full-term, it would have put a strain on her already delicate health. She had a heart condition which had only shown up when she'd become pregnant with Lex and had been dangerously ill for some time after Lex's birth. Doctors had warned her not to have another baby but of course, Lionel had been more interested in having more sons. Clark had often wondered if the miscarriage hadn't occurred whether Lillian would have lived to see the child's first birthday.

"Tell me about your parents," he prompted.

"Well, my dad's a general, as you know. He's, you know, my dad. I mean, I love him, but at times he drives me crazy. I had this boyfriend, back in high school. He was sweet and nice and he comes home and my dad's back from whatever secret mission he's been on and gives the guy this list of chores. I pretty much never saw him again.

"Anyway, my mom ... she was beautiful, and funny and she and my dad loved each other so much. The general ... he was a colonel then, he was so devastated when she died. He thinks I don't remember but for a few months after she was gone, I used to hear him crying in their room. I mean, army guys, they're supposed to be tough, like men's men, but ..."

"I don't think that's necessarily true," Clark told her. "Lionel always used to say that emotions had no place in business, but I think it's healthy. I mean, it sounds like your parents were very close so I don't see anything wrong with him grieving like that."

"Dad wasn't perfect. I mean, he made mistakes, but when I look back, I think he was just trying to keep it together."

He nodded. Kids didn't always understand why adults did the things they did, but it sounded like the general had coped by sticking to what he knew, rather than try and fail at being both father and mother to his two daughters. It wasn't necessarily the right thing, but it wasn't wrong either.


	8. Chapter 8

They finished breakfast, then headed back into town to pick up Lois' car. She stood on the sidewalk beside his car, hesitating. They might have aggravated each other in the beginning, but she realised now that they made a pretty good team.

"Uh, so, what ... um, what do you think we should do?" she asked.

"About what?"

"The story. I mean, obviously Lex isn't going to come clean."

"I figured I'd try and get into the plant somehow."

"Isn't there like security on the gate?" she said.

He frowned. "I guess there is. Why?"

"Well, how do you expect to get in? I mean, sure, you're related to the owner, but I doubt whether they'd let you drop in."

He bit his lip, looking as if he was considering this.

"You're right. I don't think they do tours either."

"So ..."

"Well, why don't we take a drive out to the plant and see if we can talk to someone," he suggested.

Lois agreed. It was probably the best thing they could do at this point. She moved her car to an out-of-the-way area and joined him in the SUV. Clark grinned at her and drove off.

As he drove, she couldn't help but sit back and admire him. She really had misjudged him, she thought. Clark wasn't as spoiled as she'd originally thought him to be. Sure, he'd been a little arrogant when they'd first met, but she realised now it was because he wasn't always as sure of himself as he led people to believe. He projected an air of confidence but deep down she believed he was just as insecure as any other guy. Probably even more so. She figured a lot of people would only want to be in his inner circle because he was rich.

She supposed it was the same at the Planet. He'd only got the job because Lionel had given it to him. He'd admitted he loved writing but he'd wanted to be a reporter, not a columnist, and the job had bored him. Since he'd been working on the train crash story, it had awakened a passion in him he had left buried since his college days.

Lois felt the same way. She loved being on the beat, talking to sources, uncovering the truth. Sure, it put her in sticky situations at times, but what job like hers didn't have its risks? She would be completely bored in just a normal office job.

The car came to a halt and she realised they were outside the security station at the gate to the plant. Clark leaned out of the window and spoke to the guard.

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't ..."

She could see Clark's lips pursing. He was clearly reluctant to pull rank on the man, but pulled out his identification. His tone was firm but courteous as he spoke.

"Listen, I am not only the CEO's brother, I am also a shareholder and trustee. Now I have some business with the manager here and I would appreciate it if you would just issue me with a pass. Or do I have to call my brother down here?"

The man gulped as he looked at Clark's driver's licence.

"Uh, yes sir. Just a minute."

Lois could see the guard duck back into the station and write something before returning to Clark's door and handed him two security passes. Clark waited as the gate was opened and drove through, appearing to relax as soon as they'd left the gate behind.

Lois didn't comment, knowing he was uncomfortable with what he'd just done. She got out once he'd parked the vehicle and followed him inside. He approached the reception desk. The man on the desk frowned at him.

"Yes sir?"

"I'd like to speak to one of the scientists on Project Ceres."

"Uh, sir, I don't know how ..."

"Do you know who I am?" he barked.

"Yes sir, but even so, I'm not allowed to just let anyone in. Even the CEO's brother, sir. A lot of the projects being worked on here are at delicate stages."

"Lois?"

She turned and looked at Lex, who was standing with woman dressed in a sharp business suit. He turned back to the woman and held out a hand, shaking it.

"I appreciate your time, Dr Teng."

Lois watched as the woman left, half her mind on Clark standing talking to the receptionist, the other half on Lex.

"If I'd known you were going to be stopping by," he said, "I would have arranged a tour."

"Uh, Lex, we figured you'd be in the city."

"I had some meetings at the plant I couldn't get out of," he said with a smile. "What's going on?"

XXXXX

"We just thought we'd come down here and see if we could talk to one of the researchers," Clark said, approaching them.

"I can't allow that, Clark. The experiments we're working on are at a very delicate stage."

Clark suppressed an indelicate snort, even as Lex continued to talk to Lois about the experiments his scientists were apparently working on.

He hadn't wanted to yell at the receptionist, but he'd learned from Lionel that intimidation and acting entitled went a long way toward getting what he wanted. It certainly wasn't the way he chose to treat people, but Lionel had once told him that being rich allowed them certain concessions.

He was hit by an irrational surge of jealousy as Lois and Lex talked. His brother was touching Lois' arm, stroking it in almost a gesture of possession. It was typical Lex.

For as long as Clark could remember, Lex had been jealous of the attention Clark had always got from Lionel, even if that attention had little to do with love and more to do with the old man trying to manipulate Clark into using his abilities to do his father's bidding.

After Lex had been exiled to Smallville, he had managed to turn the fertiliser plant around and bring in a profit after his first six months there. Lionel, of course, had been proud, although he'd never actually come out and told Lex directly, but it had been enough to spur Lex on to work even harder. Clark had often been told what a 'great example' his brother was and how he should live up to it.

For the first time in years, Clark and Lex were getting along. His brother had even been offering him advice on how to get the girl of his dreams, who had been Lana at the time.

Clark should have known never to get complacent with his brother. It wasn't long before Lex was once again trying to assert his superiority. Clark had been dating Lana for two years when Lex decided he wanted what Clark had and flirted with the brunet every chance he had. Lana, of course, had been flattered by the attention.

Here he was, doing it again, Clark thought, turning away before both Lane and his brother could see the anger in his eyes.

Okay, I admit it, he thought. I'm falling for her. Lex probably knew it too, which was why he was trying to horn in on Lois.

He noticed an attractive blonde talking with a colleague as they headed toward what he believed was the cafeteria. She had a security card.

"So, you up to heading to the Coyote tonight?" she was asking her colleague.

"The Coyote? C'mon. Really?"

"Okay, I know the place is a bit of a dive, but Friday night. I mean, where else do hot farmboys go in this cow town?"

"You might have a point," her friend mused. "We should take separate cars. In case one of us gets lucky."

"I mean, farmboys. All that lifting hay," the blonde said, chuckling.

"Clark?"

He turned back to his brother.

"Sorry. I was a million miles away," he said.

"I was just telling Lois I could arrange a tour of the plant, if you're interested."

"Uh, yeah, that sounds great, Lex. I'll ask Claire to talk to your assistant and set it up."

He remained quiet as they left the plant and headed back into town so Lois could pick up her car.

"You're awfully quiet," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I ... I just have a headache."

She reached over and rubbed his neck. He sighed at her gentle touch.

"You're so tense," she said. "Is it because of Lex?"

He really didn't want to go there. He stopped the car behind hers and pulled the handbrake before turning to look at her.

"No. I'm just ... you know, thinking about the story."

"Really? Because I got the impression you were kind of pissed off at him."

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. Maybe the way you were glaring daggers at both of us. I mean, I swear, if you were Superman, we'd probably both have been a pile of ashes. If Superman did that sort of thing, that is."

"It's not about you," he said.

"You know, what, fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You don't have to draw me a diagram."

"Just drop it, Lois!"

"And here I was thinking you weren't the jerk I originally took you for. I guess I was right about you all along!"

She pushed the door open and got out, slamming it. Clark winced, hesitating, wondering if he should go after her. He was being a jerk, but the last thing he wanted to admit to her was that the reason for it was pure jealousy.

XXXXX

Lois grumbled as she unlocked the five deadbolts to her apartment and entered, tossing her keys down on the counter. Stupid Clark Luthor, she thought. Why did he have to go and act like such a jerk when they had been getting along so well?

Men! she growled as she took a pint of Rocky Road from the freezer and a spoon from the drawer before plopping down on the sofa.

She picked up the remote and switched on the television to watch something on her DVR. Anything, she thought, rather than think about that obnoxious jerk, Clark Luthor!

The introductory bars to the theme song of her favourite soap opera could be heard and she dug her spoon into the ice cream almost viciously, pulling out a big chunk of gooey frozen confection. She licked the spoon absently as she watched the action on the screen. The daughter of the fictional town's crime family was making a deal with the FBI agent to stop him from arresting her father. The agent had always wanted her, despite the fact she was in love with another man, so she had agreed to sleep with him.

Okay, it was cheesy, she thought, but it was a distraction at least.

She had managed to get half into the show when her phone rang.

"Lois Lane!"

"Hey Lois."

"Chloe?" She glanced at the number and realised it was the one from their Metropolis apartment. "I figured you'd still be in the hospital."

"Oh no, they discharged me this afternoon. Where have you been? I tried to call you this morning."

"Um, in Smallville. We, uh, stayed overnight."

"We?"

She chewed on her lip. "Yeah, me and that no-good, stinking rotten jerk Clark Luthor."

"Okay, you sound really upset about something. I ... hang on." She heard her cousin talking to Oliver, then a minute later came back on the phone. "Sorry. He just wanted me to show him how to change the baby's diaper. I swear, he's hopeless."

"Oh well, the baby's only a couple days old. Give him a chance."

"It's not like we didn't go to classes or anything. Anyway, what's this about Clark?"

"I don't know. I mean, we were getting along great. Okay, so he's competition, but well, we are working on the same story and given that somebody tried to kill us the other night ..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a little. Somebody tried to kill you?"

Oliver must have been listening in on the conversation as Chloe could be heard shushing him.

"Uh, yeah, we didn't tell you about that because, well, you had other things on your mind. Anyway, Clark figured safety in numbers I guess, so we sort of teamed up. We went to talk to Lex."

"Why Lex?"

"Because it turns out one of the train victims worked for Luthorcorp and he knew something about a project they were working on. Clark thought Lex might be able to shed some light on it."

She ended up telling her cousin everything that had happened, right up until Clark had dropped her off at her car.

"So, yeah, when we left the plant he was angry about something."

"Um, was Lex flirting with you?"

"I guess. I don't really know. I mean, maybe I was playing it up a little because I figured he might let something slip."

"Oh, Lois, it's no wonder."

"What?"

"Well, I don't know if I should be telling you this, but when Clark was a teenager he had a total crush on a friend of ours. Her name's Lana. Anyway, they dated for about two years and then he caught her flirting with Lex. Like serious flirting."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I don't think she went so far as to cheat on him, but ... honey, there's always been a kind of rivalry between Lex and Clark. Lionel used to sort of pit them against each other. What Lex did with Lana was pretty much the last straw. They've been kind of cool toward each other ever since."

Lois remembered what she'd overheard the night before. Clark had sounded a little territorial when he'd been warning his brother off, but she hadn't thought too much of it.

"But if Lana was really into Clark, then Lex wouldn't have had a chance."

"Sure, when you put it that way, but there were issues between them a long time before Lex nosed in. Let's just say that Clark has some insecurities when it comes to relationships."

"Not that you'd notice," she said.

"Don't get me wrong, Lo, Clark's a practiced flirt, and he can seem a little arrogant, but when he really likes someone he's just as insecure as the rest of us."

Which echoed her earlier thoughts.

She needed to talk to him. Tell him that she wasn't interested in Lex. Not like that.

"Chlo, is there a way to find out where he is right now?" she asked.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I need to talk to him. I mean, now that I know why he was upset ..."

"Lo ..."

"You have to know a way."

"Why don't you try calling him?"

"I'm not sure he'd pick up. Like I said, he was pretty upset."

Chloe sighed. "All right. I'll see what I can do and I'll call you back. Right now we have to put the baby down. Give me about half an hour, okay?"

"Sure."

She put the ice cream back in the freezer and turned off the tv, taking her laptop out of her briefcase and began working on her notes for the story. She found herself staring into space, tapping her fingers impatiently on the keys as she looked at the clock.

"Come on Chloe," she said.

What was it with time that it seemed to pass interminably slowly when you wanted it to speed up?

Finally, her phone rang and she quickly picked it up.

"Chloe?"

"He's still in Smallville. Oliver called him a few minutes ago. He said something about going to the Wild Coyote tonight."

"What?"

"Apparently it's a local hangout for workers at the plant. I'd say you've got about four hours. He said he was going to be there about nine."

"Where is this place?" she asked, cradling the phone on her shoulder and typing quickly on her keyboard as her cousin gave her directions. "Thanks cuz, I owe you big time."

"Yeah, I'll just add it to the rest of the IOUs," Chloe snorted. "Good luck."

She changed quickly into a short-sleeved dress which came to just above her knees, thinking that she might as well try to blend in, although she had no idea what local women would wear to a bar in Smallville of all places.

Four hours later found her sitting at the bar, nursing a beer. Next to her was a blonde woman who had introduced herself as Kim. The bartender winked at her.

"You gonna introduce me?" he said to the blonde.

"Jerry, this is Sabrina. Sabrina, this is Jerry. Sabrina's thinking of moving here."

"Good. We need more hot babes in this town."

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Kim retorted. She picked up her bottle of beer and spun around on her stool, then slapped Lois on the arm. "Whoa, hold the phone. Look what just walked in."

Lois turned and looked. Clark.

"Who? Him?"

"He's hot!"

Lois watched as Clark approached them. Kim got up, crossing the floor to talk to him. Immediately they began flirting. Clark glanced at her over Kim's shoulder and deliberately ignored her.

The bar's jukebox began playing a song and Clark asked Kim to dance.  
_  
_Lois was asked to dance by a man wearing a plaid shirt and she let him lead her on to the dance floor, watching as Clark continued to flirt with Kim. It almost seemed like he was doing it deliberately; as if it was payback._  
_

XXXXX

Clark had noticed her as soon as he walked in. He could feel her gaze on him, but he was still too angry over what had happened with Lex. The last thing he wanted to do was take it out on her. She'd already made it pretty clear she wasn't interested in Lex. When he'd talked to Oliver earlier, his friend had also told him the same thing.

He danced with the woman from the plant, pretending to be as interested in her as she was in him. The only reason he was doing it was so he could get her security card.

Oliver had asked him why bother, since he could bypass any security system, but the last thing he wanted to do was give his brother any warning. He couldn't prove it, but he was sure Lex was not telling the whole truth about the project. Something bad had gone down and Lex was covering up.

Whether he had orchestrated the attack on him and Lois was another thing. Since the man who had shot at them the other night didn't seem to know about Clark's abilities, it was a fairly good guess that Lex hadn't been behind it.

Getting into the plant was the only way he could try and figure out what was really going on.

Kim invited him back to her place for drinks and Clark went along with it, watching as Lois walked out in a huff. He knew she was angry with him for ignoring her but he wasn't about to let her in on his plan. That way, she couldn't get hurt.

The blonde seemed to want to continue where they had left off, wrapping her arms around his neck as soon as they got in the door. Clark wasn't sure what to do. He'd never had to turn down a woman before, but he wasn't about to sleep with her.

His efforts to let her down gently turned out to be unnecessary. Kim had clearly had too much to drink and she passed out on him a few minutes later. Clark grabbed her keychain with the security pass and left the house, taking off into the air. A short time later he landed in Gotham.

Bruce didn't seem all that surprised to see him.

"I need to get a copy of this," he told his friend. "I didn't want to ask Chloe."

"I understand. Give me a few minutes."

He followed his friend down to the Batcave.

"No patrolling tonight?" he asked.

"I had some homework to do," his friend replied, nodding toward the computer.

Clark glanced at the screen. Bruce had clearly been doing some research on Galaxy Communications, as well as the Daily Planet.

"You're buying the Planet?" he asked.

"No. Wayne Foundation is." His friend cocked an eyebrow. "Can't have a crook like Edge controlling the media, now can we?"

"It was bad enough with Lionel," Clark groaned, watching as his friend began working.

Bruce had all manner of gadgets in the Batcave so he could have everything he needed at his fingertips. It didn't take him long to clone the security card.

"I don't get why you don't just bypass the security."

"If I do then Lex will know it was me. I'm trying to do this the smart way."

Bruce nodded. "How sure are you that Lex is covering up?"

"Pretty sure. He was pretty evasive when we were talking to him about the project."

"Your family is completely screwed up, you know that right?"

"I know. Sometimes I wish ..."

"What?"

"That Lionel had never adopted me. That I was adopted by some nice couple. I wouldn't care if they didn't have any money, as long as they were good people."

"Well, at least you resisted Lionel's attempts to turn you into a ruthless killer. Pity we couldn't say the same for Lex."

Clark frowned at his friend.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I don't have any proof, but what if Lex had Lionel killed? It's not the first time he's killed someone."

He shook his head. "He wouldn't. Would he?" Suddenly he wasn't so sure. Lex had told him it was natural causes but there had never been an autopsy.

"If it meant gaining full control of Luthorcorp, yeah, he would. Don't let your brother fool you, Clark. He's far more ruthless than Lionel ever was. You need to watch your back. Especially for the fact that he knows you're Superman. Don't think for a second that he won't try to use that knowledge against you, somehow. Lex is the kind of guy who thinks there's more power in knowledge. You take that power away, he'll turn on you like the snake he is."

Clark had always wondered about that. If Lex was as bad as he had always thought, it didn't seem logical that he would keep the knowledge of Clark's abilities to himself, unless he thought he could gain something by it.

He returned to Smallville, leaving Kim's card behind, then drove back to his apartment in Metropolis. He had considered trying to break in to the plant that night, but figured he needed to work out a plan first.

He was surprised to see he had a visitor waiting in the hallway. Lois. She looked furious.

"Where the hell have you been?" she asked. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It's five in the morning. Have you been out here all night?"

"Don't answer a question with a question, Luthor. Where have you been? I bet you've been with that blonde. Did you sleep with her?"

Not wanting her to wake up the whole building with her indignant screeching, Clark unlocked his door and ushered her inside. She saw the snake in its pen and shifted nervously.

"It won't bite," he said. "Just don't wake it up."

"I figured you were exaggerating, or something. I didn't think you actually meant you had a real snake."

He shrugged. "I'd always wanted a pet but I've never been a dog or cat person. I like snakes."

"Don't they need a lot of care?"

"I guess."

He'd sped back to his apartment the night before to make sure the snake was well-fed, not willing to leave it to fend for itself for one night.

Lois continued to fidget, picking up various things from the shelves and putting them down again.

"Lois ..."

"Did you?" she asked finally.

"Did I what?"

"Sleep with her?"

"No. She was drunk."

"Were you going to?"

"No," he told her.

"Oh." She heaved a sigh and looked at him. "What was that in the bar? I wanted to talk to you."

"Lois, think about this. How would it have looked if we'd suddenly started chatting like old friends?"

"I guess it would have looked a little strange, considering I told Kim I was thinking of moving there."

"Exactly."

"It's just ... I really needed to talk to you. About what happened this ... I mean, yesterday. With ... with Lex."

"I already know. Lois, I'm not as dumb as I look. I know what you were trying to do and I wasn't upset with you."

"You were upset with Lex."

"When I was a teenager, I was dating this girl. Lex ..."

"Chloe told me what happened with Lana. I'm sorry."

He ran a hand through his dark hair, tousling it.

"I think about that time a lot. Lana and I had our problems. Sometimes I think if I'd been honest with her then she would never have let Lex in, but ..."

"You don't know that," she said quietly. "Stop beating yourself up. If Lana really loved you, nothing Lex did would have made a difference. She would have fought for you." She chewed on her lip. "And if you'd really loved her, I think you would have fought just as hard for her."

"Sometimes I think you know me better than anyone I've ever met, Lois," he said quietly.

He reached for her, pulling her into his arms and pressing his lips to hers. She responded, her arms around his neck, her lips soft and yielding beneath his. He could smell the delicate fragrance of the shampoo she used, the light perfume she'd clearly dabbed at her throat. It reminded him a little of the perfume Lillian had worn. A floral scent which was subtle, just tickling his senses.

His hands sought the zipper of her dress, pulling it down. She stepped back, letting the dress drop to the floor with a coy look. He picked her up in his arms and carried her into his bedroom, lowering her gently to the bed. She reached for him, pulling him down to her, her small fingers scrabbling for the buttons of his shirt.

"Lois," he began, not really knowing what he wanted to say. All he knew was that he needed her. She responded with a slim finger on his lips.

"Love me," she said.

He let her undress him and lowered himself to the bed, letting her take control as they rolled over. He loved the tender expression on her face as she smiled at him. Nothing else mattered but them in this moment.


	9. Chapter 9

Lois stretched languorously and rolled over to glance at the clock. It was almost noon which meant they'd been sleeping for about six hours or so. She snuggled back in his embrace, rolling over to look at the face of the beautiful man sleeping next to her. She smiled indulgently as she began tracing his nose with her finger, moving down to trace his full, perfect mouth.

"You know I bite," he said sleepily.

"You wouldn't," she told him confidently.

She was suddenly caught in a green-eyed gaze as his eyes opened and looked at her, amusement in those depths.

"Wanna bet?" he said, pretending to bite her finger.

She growled and gnashed her teeth at him and was suddenly rolled onto her back as he straddled her, tickling her mercilessly.

"No, no," she squealed, trying to wriggle away from those magic fingers.

"Do the crime, do the time, Lane," he laughed, burying his head in her shoulder.

She giggled madly as he sucked on her skin, his stubble causing gooseflesh to rise.

She felt it before she heard it. It started as a fluttering in her stomach before it became a full-on growl. Clark lifted his head and looked at her.

"Was that you?"

"I'm hungry," she told him. "Feed me."

"Giving me orders, Lane?"

"Yup, so hop to it." She waved her hand at him.

"You are going to so wish you never said that," he told her, pretending once more to bite her before getting out of bed, then lifted her over his shoulder. Lois squealed at him to put her down.

"Nuh uh," he said.

"Clark!"

She found herself unceremoniously deposited on a stool by the breakfast bar, watching as Clark went into the kitchen.

"Um, you know you're naked, right?" she said.

He frowned down at himself. "Well, whaddya know? So I am. So are you, Lane."

"You know, if someone were to walk in that door ..."

"Well, since I have a doorman downstairs who doesn't let anyone up without telling me," he said, his voice slightly muffled by the fact he was looking in his refrigerator. He straightened and looked at her. "Speaking of which ..."

"Oh, yeah, I kind of lied to your doorman. Told him you'd knocked me up and I was going to go to every paper in the city if he didn't let me up so I could serve you with a paternity suit."

His eyes widened. "Lois!"

She rolled her eyes and poked her tongue out at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm kidding! That was a joke! Seriously, I just told him who I was and that we were working together on a story. Then I gave him a fifty so he would let me up."

"Now that sounds more like you." He turned back to peruse the contents of his refrigerator. From the sounds he was making it didn't sound like much. "Um, I guess I need to go shopping. How does a cheese omelette sound? I have tomatoes, peppers ..."

Her stomach rumbled again. "Sounds great."

She watched as he worked, chopping up tomatoes, peppers and onions and mixing them with eggs, milk and cheese before adding the mix to a hot pan. The omelette was ready in minutes.

Clark set the plate on the breakfast bar and sat beside her. Lois squirmed at seeing his nakedness, unable to tear her gaze away from his perfectly formed muscles.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just ... god, you're beautiful." She blushed. "I mean ..." Could a man be beautiful?

"It's okay. I know what you meant." He lifted his hand to stroke her cheek and she turned her head to kiss his palm.

Her stomach grumbled again as the aroma of the freshly-cooked omelette drifted her way. Her tastebuds tingled. She sighed contentedly, then picked up the fork and cut a piece. The taste exploded in her mouth.

"Umm," she sighed again.

"Good?"

"Amazing!"

He took the fork from her hand and cut another piece. She watched avidly as he lifted it to his mouth and ate.

"You're right, it is good, if I do say so myself." He smirked at her.

She punched his shoulder playfully and he laughed. They took it in turns to eat until Lois couldn't eat another bite.

Their appetite sated, they returned to bed for a little while, satisfying another kind of hunger. It was mid-afternoon when they rose again. Clark put on loose pants and gave her a t-shirt to wear over her nakedness.

She'd forgotten about the snake in the tank in the middle of the open-plan living and dining room until it moved in the periphery of her vision. Lois sat once again the breakfast bar as Clark went to check on his pet.

"I'm guessing your namesake is hungry too," he said.

"Did you really name your snake after me?" she asked, watching as he took something out of the refrigerator, then began to run warm water over it.

He shrugged philosophically. "Well, I was a little mad at you at the time."

"You know, you're not the easiest guy to get to know either."

"Admit it, Lane, you got off on the competition."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I did. You were a challenge, I'll give you that."

She watched as he took some tongs and lowered what she realised was a mouse into the tank. The snake slowly uncoiled, moving almost lazily as it sensed the prey.

"Why do you use tongs?"

"Have you ever seen a boa constrictor squeeze its prey? Trust me, you don't want to get that close when they're hungry."

"Oh. How old is she?"

"She was about two months, ten weeks, I guess, when I got her, so she's about three months now."

"She's pretty big for a baby."

"They're usually about two feet at first. The guy at the store thinks she'll grow to maybe ten feet, a hundred pounds."

"A hundred pounds?" Lois was already daunted by the thought.

"Boas are usually pretty tame, Lois."

She shuddered, watching as the snake took the mouse. "Still not floating my boat."

He looked up at her and grinned.

"Yeah, I can tell by the way you're staying way over there."

"Hey, I might be an army brat but there are some things I just won't touch. Not even for all the tea in China."

He laughed, then straightened as the snake appeared to settle down contentedly with its meal. Clark returned to sit by her.

"So I was thinking, why don't we go out somewhere? Maybe see a movie?"

"Are you asking me out on a date, Mr Luthor?"

"If I were would you say yes?"

She wanted to tease him, dangle the carrot, so to speak, but she couldn't do it.

"I'll tell you what. I'll go home and change my clothes and meet you back here in about an hour."

"Or, I could quickly go shower and change and follow you to your apartment. Then we can go out together."

"Ooh, I like that idea. Except for the shower thing."

He looked at her askance. "Oh?"

She grinned slyly, her finger tracing his broad chest.

"Maybe we could shower together."

He scooped her up in his arms. "You are a wicked woman, Miss Lane."

"That is soo hot!" she said, pressing a quick kiss on his lips.

XXXXX

It was early in the evening as they strolled in Centennial Park. Clark hadn't heard any cries for help all day which was a relief. He'd had such a good time with Lois that he didn't want the day to end.

She was everything he'd never known he'd always wanted in a woman. She was not only beautiful, but also brilliant, smart and could match him in wit. She had a smile that would light up the room and it felt like she really listened when he talked, like whatever he had to say was the most important thing in the world.

"Did you ever think when you were a kid you would end up a reporter?"

"My dad used to tell me that nothing was more important than working for Luthorcorp. What about you? Did you ever think about following in your dad's footsteps?"

She shook her head.

"Honestly, I used to hate that his work would take him away from his family. He missed a lot of things, from Lucy's piano recitals to my school plays. I remember when I was in fifth grade. We were doing a production of Our Town and I kept looking out in the audience wishing he would show up, but he never did."

"That must have hurt."

"I guess it's why it could never work out with Ollie. I mean, I do love him, as a friend, but he's got this whole other side to him that I just can't ... I mean, Dad was dedicated to his work and that's okay. It hurt sometimes, but that was who he was. It just ... it's like knowing that their destiny is so much greater than yours and that it always comes first."

"Is that why you broke it off with Oliver?"

She nodded. "I just couldn't be left behind one more time."

Clark felt an odd lurch in his stomach. If she knew he was Superman ... How could he be with her, share a life with her if she felt this way?

A little voice inside him told him to break it off with her, but he couldn't. He just couldn't hurt her like that. Besides, he was already in love with her. If he lost her now it would be like losing another limb.

His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hey kid, I hadn't heard from you so I was just checking up on the story."

"Hi Perry, we're working on it."

"We?"

"Um, yeah. Are you at the Planet? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"No. I'm at home."

"Can we stop by?"

"There's that 'we' again. What are you up to Luthor?" When Clark didn't answer his editor sighed. "All right. I think I can spare a few minutes."

Lois looked at him warily as he hung up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm hoping we can talk Perry into giving you a job at the Planet," he said. "Come on."

Perry lived across town in a townhouse that was built in the early nineteen hundreds. It was a small three-storey house tucked in between other similar-looking homes.

His boss answered the door, his eyes wide as he realised who Clark was with.

"Great Caesar's Ghost, Luthor! Lois Lane?"

"Mr White. I've heard a lot about you."

"Not as much as I've heard about you, Lane. Come on in. Don't stand on ceremony."

He led them into the tiny living room and they sat down.

"So you're the one who lit a fire under my boy's ass," Perry said.

Clark looked at his boss. "Chief?"

"Well, let's face it, kid, you weren't exactly pulling in the numbers, not until Lane crashed the party. Hell, if I didn't know better, I'd say the two of you got a kick out of pushing each other's buttons."

Lois laughed. "Yeah, I guess it looked that way."

"We've sort of been working together the past couple of days, trying to get to the bottom of the train crash."

"I'm guessing your boss doesn't know about it," Perry asked Lois.

"No, he doesn't."

"Actually, I was wondering ... Lois is a good reporter, Chief. One of the best actually."

"And you're thinking I can hire her? I'd do it in a minute if there weren't a few stumbling blocks in the way. Hell, honey, I would move heaven and earth to get a good reporter like you at the Planet, but now that you've been selling papers, your boss isn't going to want to let you go that easy."

"He's a total tool, Perry," Clark said, but his boss raised his hand.

"I know what he's like. Man fancies himself as a media mogul but he'll find himself on the serious end of a sexual harassment suit soon enough. There is another problem."

"Yeah, Lex told me about it. Morgan Edge is trying to buy out Luthor Media."

"As is the Wayne Foundation. Truth be told, and no offence to you and your family, Luthor, but I'd much rather the show be run by someone like Bruce Wayne. The guy's a player but his CEO, on the other hand, knows what he's doing."

"I'm not offended," Clark told him.

"So, what's up with the story, kids?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Lois said.

They'd talked about it on the way over to Lois' apartment. Clark had told her his suspicions about Lex, but they hadn't been able to come up with a way to prove it.

"We think that Earl might have been trying to blow the whistle on Project Ceres, but we don't have enough evidence."

"How do you propose on getting that evidence?"

"Uh ..." Clark hesitated. "I was going to try to get into the plant. I stole a security pass."

"Wait, that's why you were ..." Lois began. "You were going to break in to the plant by yourself?"

"I didn't want you getting hurt," he told her.

"Oh, so it's okay for you to risk it, but not me?" she said, sharply, sounding as if she was starting to lose her temper.

"Whoa, kids, hold up. Now, son, Lois has a point. If someone has already tried to kill you both, I doubt it's any safer for you than it is for her."

Unless you're Superman, Clark thought.

"I guess you've got a point, Chief."

"Not to mention the fact that there's a little thing called breaking the law."

He grimaced. "Is it technically breaking a law if your family owns the property?"

Perry looked at him thoughtfully, then laughed.

"Well, how about that? What does your brother have to say about it?"

"Yesterday he told us the experiments were at a delicate stage and the researchers couldn't be interrupted."

"Which is spin doctor speak for stay the hell out of my business." Perry sighed. "Look, kids, I don't wanna tell you how to do your job. God knows, I did my fair share of stretching the rules in my younger days, but you need to find that evidence. You still have no idea what Jenkins had?"

Clark shook his head. "I have a friend of mine trying to find out what happened to Belinda, but so far he hasn't been able to come up with anything."

"I'm guessing Belinda went into hiding after finding out what happened to Earl," Lois said. "Not that I blame her."

Perry promised to call a few of his contacts as well. They left, still discussing what to do about the plant.

"We need to get into that plant," Lois told him. "I think it's the only way we're going to be able to uncover what really happened."

"I had a friend clone Kim's card. There's an employee car park we can go through."

"Then let's do it," she smiled.

Clark bit his lip. As much as he wanted to tell her to keep away, he knew she wouldn't listen, and he didn't want to start a fight.

Just as they had decided to try and get in to the plant that night, Bruce called.

"I found Belinda Jenkins. She's scared as hell, but she wants to talk."

Clark covered the mouthpiece of his phone and looked at Lois.

"My friend found Belinda."

Lois' eyes widened. "Okay, we need to meet with her. Did he say where?"

Clark turned back to the phone. "Where does she want to meet?"

Bruce gave him an address. It wasn't far from his apartment in what was called the high-rent district of the city. Belinda apparently had a friend who owned an apartment there.

The woman who answered the door was the same one in the photograph, which assured Clark the meeting was genuine. She looked nervous but otherwise fine.

"Mrs Jenkins?" he said.

"Belinda," she corrected. "You must be Clark. And this is ..."

"Lois Lane."

"I read your stories, Miss Lane. You're a good writer."

"Thank you," Lois said quietly, her expression full of concern as she looked the woman over. She had clearly noticed the woman's fearful demeanour.

They sat down in the living room. Clark noticed the apartment was a lot like his. Luxuriously furnished with genuine Italian leather couches and heavy velvet drapes. Belinda was dressed modestly in jeans and a cotton blouse which didn't seem to fit in such luxurious surroundings.

"My friend is a model," Belinda said. "She's away on a shoot right now."

Clark frowned, glancing around and noticing a magazine on the smoked glass coffee table. A gorgeous dark-skinned woman was on the cover. He picked it up.

"Is that her?" he asked.

Belinda nodded.

"Yes, that's Lisa. She said she met you a few weeks ago."

Clark could have kicked himself. He remembered the party he'd gone to with the Maxim models, where he'd met Susie. He'd flirted with Lisa.

Lois nudged him, frowning slightly.

"We don't need details of your sexploits, Luthor," she said.

Gulp, he thought. She was probably going to make him pay for that later.

"Um, anyway, she said that you were a pretty decent guy and that I could trust you."

"We're sorry about your husband," Lois said.

Belinda looked grieved, nodding.

"Earl and I were separated. It was his choice. He thought he could protect us ... me and our little boy."

"Why?" Clark asked gently. "What was he afraid of?"

"Earl worked for a long time at the plant. He knew a lot about the projects that went on there. There was one project that he said had a lot of people nervous."

"Project Ceres?"

"I don't know what it was called. I only know that the bosses were pushing for a release. Earl said that one of the top scientists was told they were trying to push it through the FDA, even though they weren't even close to resolving all the issues."

"Did he say what those issues were?"

She shook her head. "He thought the less I knew about the specifics the better. He was going to go to the FDA in DC and blow the whistle."

"Then the train crash. What happened after that?"

"I came home and someone had been searching the house. I'd only just heard about the crash so I knew there had to be a connection. I packed up a few things, took my son and just ran."

There wasn't much else Belinda could tell them after that, but they were able to get the name of one of the other scientists working on Project Ceres. The problem was, he was in a hospice. Belinda couldn't tell them what his illness was, just that he didn't have long. She then dropped another bombshell. Earl had had the same illness, although his hadn't been at the same stage. He'd been trying to get treatment.

They raced to St Vincent's Hospital, a small centre on the west side of Metropolis which specialized in palliative care. From what Belinda had told them, the former scientist they hoped to see was in the late stages of a terminal illness.

The area they were visiting appeared to be the oldest part. The building itself seemed to have been extended on in the last twenty or so years, while that area was showing signs of neglect. They had tried to make it cheerful enough, with cream paint on the walls and children's paintings posted throughout. Still, there was an air of almost hopelessness about them as they entered.

The woman on the desk started to refuse until Lois begged her to at least talk to the man, or his family. The woman picked up the phone and talked to someone, then looked at them both with a resigned expression.

"He says you can see him for a few minutes."

Clark looked at Lois, then followed the woman down the corridor. She knocked on the door and ushered them in.

There was a man lying still in the bed. His hair was long and tangled, his face shiny with perspiration. As soon as Clark started to approach him, he began to feel ill. Nausea bubbled up in his stomach and sharp, shooting cramps. There was only one substance in the world that could make him feel like that. Kryptonite! But how was it possible, he thought.

"Clark, are you okay?" Lois whispered.

He couldn't explain it to her, not without revealing that he was Superman.

"I'm just suddenly not feeling so good," he told her. "Why don't you talk to Dr Hamilton."

XXXXX

Lois looked at Clark. He was white-faced, clutching his stomach. For a moment she could swear that his skin had gone almost green. She couldn't understand it. They'd both eaten the same thing that day and he'd been fine until he'd stepped into the room. She squeezed his hand and was surprised to feel it trembling.

"I'm going to wait outside," he said.

She watched as he walked away, worried about the sudden change in his demeanour. Shrugging, she turned back to the man in the bed.

Steven Hamilton had been a teacher at Metropolis University until, or so the university board claimed, he'd had inappropriate relations with a student. She wondered if it might have been something else as for a few years he had studied the meteor rocks almost obsessively.

Luthorcorp had hired him as a researcher some years later and he was known for pushing the envelope on his research, crossing a few ethical boundaries.

"Dr Hamilton?" she said quietly.

The African-American looked at her.

"My name's Lois Lane. I'm a reporter," she said.

"Miss ... Lane," he said, his breathing laboured.

"Yes, sir. I came here to talk to you about Project Ceres."

"Project ... dangerous. Toxic ... levels. Wouldn't ... wouldn't ... listen. Pushed for FDA ..." He trailed off, his eyes widening. She could see despair in his expression.

Suddenly the bed began to shake uncontrollably as the man's body experienced a series of tremors unlike anything Lois had ever seen. It was more than just a seizure.

The machine monitoring his heart beat and blood pressure levels began to beep frantically. The door was flung open and a nurse ran in.

"I'm sorry. You'll have to leave."

Lois backed away, unnerved by what she had seen. She found herself embraced by strong arms.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked.

She nodded, turning and burying her head in his chest.

"I don't know what ... God, Clark, that poor man."

The nurse came back out, looking sombrely at them.

"Dr Hamilton is resting, but I don't think ..." She swallowed. "He won't be with us much longer, I'm afraid."

"It must be difficult for you," Clark said sympathetically. "Looking after terminal patients."

"I won't pretend it's easy," she sighed, walking down the corridor with them. Lois was still clinging to Clark, not willing to let him go. Not after what had happened. She couldn't explain it, but seeing the former scientist in such bad shape was too much to bear.

"You get attached to the patients, I guess," the woman was saying. "Dr Hamilton's been with us for at least the last month. He's had it rough, but he's a real sweetheart, really."

"Do the doctors know ...?" Lois asked, trailing off.

"I suggest you talk to a Dr Harden at Metropolis General," the nurse said. "She can probably tell you more than I can."

"Thank you."

Clark was quiet as he drove back to his apartment.

"What happened in there?" Lois asked. "I mean, you seem fine now, but you were sick."

"I don't know," he said.

She frowned at him. "You must know ..."

He took his eyes off the road for a couple of seconds to look at her. His expression suggested he was as confused as she was.

"I really don't know," he told her. "I wish I did."

She rubbed his arm. "It's okay. We'll figure it out."

"Maybe you want to call Dr Harden and see if she'll talk to us."

She nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll do that when we get to your apartment."

Lois waited until they were inside, watching from a distance as Clark tended to his pet, while she placed the call to Metropolis General. The nurse on duty told her Dr Harden was off-duty but she would page her.

A few minutes later, the doctor returned her call.

"What is this about, Miss Lane?" she asked.

"I understand from St Vincent's that you were treating Dr Steven Hamilton."

"Yes, I was. I'm afraid there is very little we can do for him now except make him comfortable."

"I know," Lois said. "We just came from there." She paused. "We're working on a story in which I believe Dr Hamilton may have played a part. Can you tell us a bit more about his illness?"

"Well, he first came to us about six months ago, complaining of symptoms which suggested some kind of epilepsy but various MRIs and neurological scans were negative. We finally concluded he was suffering from some kind of mineral poisoning, but it's not any mineral that I've ever seen before."

She paused as if searching for the right words.

"The truth is, Miss Lane, if I hadn't seen another case with almost identical symptoms, I would have just passed it on to another specialist and they probably would have come to the same conclusion as my initial one. There's just nothing we can do. We can't diagnose something if we can't identify the cause."

"Another case?" she asked, getting the awful feeling she knew who the second patient was.

"Yes. I understand the man was killed in the recent Metro Rail crash."

Clark looked up at Lois' gasp. She frowned slightly at him, then shook her head. She thanked the doctor for her time and hung up.

"Lois?"

"She said it's some kind of mineral poisoning, but she doesn't know what caused it. Now we really do have to go to the plant and try to figure out what this is."

"Yeah, we do, but it's too late tonight," he said.

He approached her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Will you stay?" he asked quietly.

"You need to ask?" she said, looking up at him. It seemed as if he needed her and she couldn't abandon him.

As she curled up in bed with him that night, she couldn't help but look down at the man she had fallen in love with. There was something he wasn't telling her. Something she realised was bothering him. As much as she wanted to push for an answer from him, she knew it was best to let him tell her in his own good time. It felt as if he needed her to trust him, no matter what his secrets were.

It was so much different than it was with Oliver. It had bothered her when Oliver had disappeared so many times on her without an explanation. When she had learned that he was Green Arrow, it had explained so many things, but she hadn't been able to find it in her heart to forgive him for it. She had been hurt, realising that Oliver had a calling that was more important to him than her. At least, until he'd fallen for Chloe. Then again, in many ways, Chloe was better for him than Lois had ever been because she understood him.

Lois had been too caught up in her bitterness over her father's abandonment to ever come to the same understanding.

Yet with Clark ... she couldn't explain it and wasn't sure she wanted to try.

She fell asleep still trying to puzzle it out in her head, without coming to any sort of satisfactory conclusion.

It felt like a couple of hours later when she woke to find the bed was empty beside her. She sat up and looked around, frowning.

"Clark?"

She listened for any sound, wondering if he had perhaps gone to the bathroom or was in the kitchen, but there was nothing. She rose from the bed, picking up his shirt and wrapping it over her nakedness, moving quietly over the carpeted floor out of the bedroom and into the living room.

The drapes at the window overlooking the terrace were open and moonlight was shining in, almost lighting up the whole room. Lois stared out over the cityscape, wondering why she was feeling so uneasy.

Clark was definitely not in the apartment. So where was he?

After a few minutes of this, she sighed and went back to bed, intending to stay awake until he came back but fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

XXXXX

Clark returned home shortly before dawn. He'd been called away to help with a tsunami threatening islands with the Pacific's 'Ring of Fire'. It should have been a simple matter of either creating an undersea trench or evaporating the water but there had been an unusual amount of seismic activity under the sea and it had taken a few hours to get it all under control.

He wondered if perhaps the activity was due less to nature's fury and more to something man-made, but there was no way to prove it.

Lois was sound asleep in his bed as he quietly returned to the bedroom and slipped beneath the covers. As if sensing his presence, she shifted restlessly and flung her arm over him. He kissed her gently on the forehead and wrapped an arm around her, holding her close.

He had hoped and prayed when he'd left that he'd been quiet enough not to disturb her; hoping that she wouldn't wake up and notice him gone, which would start her asking questions. Still, it was one of the risks he'd have to take if he was going to continue to pursue the relationship.

Eventually she would have to know that he was Superman. The question was, would she accept him.

He managed to get a couple of hours' sleep before Lois' movements in the bed woke him up. She leaned on one elbow, looking down at him with a frown on her lovely face.

"I woke up earlier and you were gone."

"When?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "It must have been pretty early. I got up and you weren't here."

Tell her the truth, his conscience shouted at him, but Clark didn't think she was ready to hear the truth. Not yet.

"I went for a walk," he said. "I couldn't sleep."

"Funny, you fell asleep before I did," she said.

"Sometimes I get insomnia," he lied, hoping she wouldn't catch him in the lie. "It helps if I go out for a walk."

"Is that the truth?" she asked.

Again, he heard that voice in the back of his mind shouting at him to tell the truth, but he mentally pushed it away. Her frown deepened and she started to rise.

He hated lying, especially to her, but he wasn't ready for her to know the truth. The problem was, he'd already hesitated a second too long and it was long enough for her to realise that he wasn't telling her everything.

"It's okay. I get it. You know what, that's fine. You don't have to tell me the truth. I mean, it's not like this is ... whatever this is."

He reached for her.

"Lois, don't ..."

"No, Clark. I mean, I've always had the feeling you weren't telling me everything and I guess this is just another of those things you refuse to share. I mean, I thought we were partners here."

He wanted to tell her she was wrong, but it seemed easier to let her believe it was just about the story. God, why was this so hard, he thought.

Before he could stop her, she had dressed and gathered her things, practically running out of the apartment.


	10. Chapter 10

Lois had managed to steal someone's security pass by hanging out once more at the bar they seemed to frequent. It wasn't that she was any kind of pickpocket but she had dated a guy once who had boasted of being able to lift his dad's wallet without being caught and he had taught her the basics.

Donning square horn-rimmed glasses which were very unflattering and a white lab coat, Lois managed to slip in the employee's entrance.

For a moment she considered whether she should have told Clark she was going, knowing he would have been concerned, but decided since he had been keeping things from her then she had no reason to tell him.

Screw Clark Luthor, she thought with a scowl. It wasn't like he owned her. He shouldn't have lied to her the other morning. That was what had hurt the most. After the amazing day they'd had together and two incredible nights, how could he lie to her?

She'd spent much of that day cleaning her apartment, trying not to cry. Lois was bred tough but when she fell for someone she went all the way and it always hurt like a mother when it fell apart as they inevitably did. She was just glad that it had done so before she had become so emotionally invested in him.

Oh, who are you kidding, Lane? a little voice inside her head murmured. You're already in love with the guy.

Lois had never believed in love at first sight, but she did believe in physical attraction at first sight and she had been trying to convince herself that that was all it was. The trouble was, she knew deep down it was more than that. Clark was the kind of man she had always imagined falling for. Not only was he good-looking and smart, but she could talk to him for hours and never feel that he was just indulging her. He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say and didn't treat her like she was stupid.

Why did it bother her so much that he was keeping something from her? She'd been over and over it in her head trying to figure out what it was. She didn't want to believe it was just about the story. There just seemed to be something else. It had driven her crazy for two days.

She had considered asking Chloe or Oliver about it, but had decided they had enough to deal with. The last thing the new parents needed was to be bothered by her relationship problems.

She sighed. The last guy she'd dated had been practically scared off by her intensity.

In high school, she had been told by her journalism teacher that she would never make a good reporter. Determined to prove the woman wrong, she had worked for the army rag, firstly as a volunteer while she'd attended college. The stories she had been assigned had been boring puff pieces and she had begun to wonder if her teacher had been right after all. Then there had been a series of thefts on the base where her father had been stationed and she had pursued the story with a vengeance. The series of articles she had written had brought her to the attention of the editor of the Star City Sentinel and she'd found her niche writing investigative pieces.

Most of the guys she'd dated had been rather put-off by her dedication to her work. Oliver had been the only one who had seemed to understand, but then again, he hadn't been one to throw stones.

She'd been chasing stories on Green Arrow while in Star City, not realising that her new beau had been the very same individual. It had bothered her when Oliver kept disappearing on their dates, and she had let it go, until the day he'd told her he couldn't take her away as they'd planned. That something else had come up.

When she'd found out the truth about Oliver being Green Arrow, it hadn't been enough to renew their romance. As much as it had hurt to walk away, the pain had been nothing to what she had been feeling in the two days since she'd walked away from Clark.

Face it, Lane, you didn't walk, you ran. She sighed again, trying to focus on the task at hand.

She glanced around, hoping to see something which might be the key to unlocking the mystery, then snickered. Right, like there's going to be a door or something with a big old sign pointing the way.

Lois used the security card to unlock one door and followed the corridor. There had to be an office or a lab; somewhere she could get access to the information she needed.

She heard voices and ducked quickly into an alcove, watching as Kim walked past her, talking with a colleague. There would have been some serious questions if the lab tech had seen her, she thought, sighing with relief. Waiting until the voices faded, she resumed walking along the corridor, finding a door with another lock requiring the security pass. The room was empty. She quickly swiped it and entered, spying a computer.

Sitting down at the desk, keeping an eye on the door as she switched on the computer. She'd once dated a guy who knew how to circumvent passwords in systems and used the skills she'd learned from him, bypassing the security and looking through the system files. The computer was networked so she figured there would be something in one of the network drives.

The problem was, the drive itself was protected and she had no idea how to get in without alerting either security or anyone in information systems. She'd already taken a chance by accessing the computer itself. If the plant's security was any good, they would know of her presence by now.

Still, worrying about it wasn't going to get the job done, she told herself. She hadn't become the top investigative journalist at the Star by sitting back and waiting for the answers to come to her.

Sighing, she leaned on the desk, typing on the keyboard as she tried to figure out another way in to the network. She was so engrossed in her task, she forgot to keep an eye on the door and only looked up when she heard the click of a bullet hitting a chamber.

"Lois Lane. I'll be damned!"

XXXXX

Clark had avoided calling Lois for two days, knowing she would probably hang up on him, hoping it would give her time to cool down. The last thing he wanted was to start a fight with her, just when he thought they were opening up to each other.

As he'd told Perry, he had planned to go to the plant and see what he could dig up. Of course, he hadn't told his boss just how he was going to get that information.

He'd managed to use the cloned security card to get in, giving a relieved sigh when the card let him in. At least the lab tech, Kim, had been none the wiser for their so-called date the other night.

As he followed the corridor, taking care not to be spotted on the cameras monitoring the building, he heard voices. Pressing himself into a small alcove, he listened.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Clark sighed. Lois. He had no idea how she had managed to get in but she'd clearly decided she was going to go alone, and of course had got into trouble. He snickered. Dan Turpin had described her as trouble with a capital T and Clark agreed with his friend wholeheartedly.

Lois passed him, her arm in the grip of a tall man a few years older than Lex with steely grey hair. He was wearing a business suit which marked him as an executive of some type.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you Lane? Where's your friend, by the way?"

"What friend are you talking about?" she asked.

"Luthor."

"Which one? The one who happens to be your boss or the spoilt rich boy snake-in-the-grass?"

"Ooh, such anger. Sounds like lover boy's in the doghouse."

Clark could hear the slight tremor in Lois' voice. She was covering up either fear or something else.

"Clark Luthor isn't ... you know what, it's none of your business. Besides, I have no idea where he is."

Clark bit his lip as he watched them walk away. Lois was clearly trying to loosen the man's grip but he seemed to be too strong for her. He decided to follow them at a distance and look for an opening to attack.

"Where are you taking me, anyway?" Lois asked.

"Somewhere we cannot be overheard," the man told her. "Or seen."

"Why, Vargas? You afraid the boss might be on to your little scheme?"

Vargas was silent on that point and Clark wondered if Lex knew everything anyway. As much as he claimed to not know everything his scientists were working on, Clark had the feeling his brother didn't miss much when it came to his company. More than likely, he'd actually approved everything that crossed his desk.

At the end of the corridor was a room that appeared to be just a broom closet, but when Clark x-rayed he saw an elevator. The man holding Lois pressed some buttons on a keypad and the false wall slid aside, revealing the elevator, then shoved her into the car. Clark darted forward, then paused. The worst thing he could do was let himself be seen. He did manage to catch a glimpse of the man pushing a button for a lower level. He frowned. As far as he knew, there had never been a third level to the plant.

Figuring there had to be another way, he turned and sped back the way he'd come, searching for a records room. He stopped outside the door to security where guards watched the monitors. One of the screens showed an office with several file cabinets. From what Clark could tell, it was in the east wing of the plant. He ran at full speed, digging in the files.

Using the card, he let himself into a nearby office which wasn't monitored and went through the blueprints he'd picked up. Nothing. According to the schematics, the level didn't exist, yet Lois had still been taken there.

Clark scanned the floor below, but it seemed to be shielded with lead. He'd always had a problem with it.  
He ran through the plant, continuing to scan, certain there was an alternate entry to level three. There was no way they would just have the elevator in and out.

He found it at the south end of the plant. A door which wasn't secured by the normal system. Clark broke the lock as quietly as he could by poking a finger through it, pushing the lock through to the other side. He opened the door and slipped through.

The door led to a spiral staircase, at the bottom of which was a narrow walkway made of galvanized steel mesh. It overlooked a huge space at least fifteen feet below. Lois was sitting on a chair next to a table, looking extremely tense, even though she was trying not to show it. The man who had shoved her was sitting on the table.

The contents of her purse were strewn on the top where he'd obviously scattered them in his search.

"We were hoping you had what we were looking for," the man was saying, "but I'm guessing it got destroyed in the crash. So now, it looks like the only evidence we have, is you." He smirked. "Oh, and your boyfriend, of course."

"Whatever would your boss say if you killed his brother?"

"Way I hear it, it wouldn't be much of a loss anyway," the man said philosophically.

He chuckled. "You know, I've heard a lot about you Lane. Got a bad habit of getting yourself into trouble."

"That's me," Lois said brightly, belying the fear Clark sensed from her. He could see her pulse was racing. "Somebody told me I'm trouble with a capital T."

"Oh, you're trouble, all right. Pity our friend didn't manage to finish you off."

"Who's paying you?" Lois asked, standing up.

"Sit down, Lane."

Clark knew he had to do something when the man aimed his gun at her. He inched along the walkway, but the steel cable holding the walkway moved with him. It had been a long time since Clark had got over his fear of heights, but it still made him uneasy. The mesh plate shifted against the next one, creating a 'clink' sound. Clark tried to move back but it was already too late. The gunman had spotted him and fired a shot.

With a clang, the bullet hit the mesh, creating a spark. Another shot and it hit the cable. A third time the gunman fired wildly, once again hitting the weakened cable, breaking it and sending Clark flying. He fell with the mesh under him, rolling as he landed.

Lois was already on her feet, tackling the gunman, grabbing his gun arm and trying to twist it, clearly hoping to force him to drop the gun.

Clark groaned as he tried to roll his body, his skin fairly crawling. Kryptonite! He tried to get to his feet, looking around frantically for the source, and realised there were huge vats of liquid meteor rock. That was the key to Project Ceres, he realised. They'd been using meteor rock in their experiments.

His stomach heaved. As a child, even a small piece of meteor rock would have been debilitating, but he'd managed to get a tolerance over the years. This much of it, however, would kill him. Fighting nausea and dizziness, he again tried to get to his feet, wanting to help Lois who was continuing to fight the gunman.

Somehow, in the struggle, the table she'd been forced to sit at had been upturned and whatever had been in Lois' bag was now on the concrete floor. Clark spotted what looked like a ballpoint pen, except now it was split in half. He realised it hadn't been a pen at all, but a flash drive cleverly disguised as a pen. It was clearly what had been found by the two teenagers at the crash site, and the evidence they'd been searching for.

The gunman saw it and lunged for it, but Clark managed to get to his knees, bringing the man down in what his football coach would have called the ugliest tackle in the history of football. Still, it got the job done. The man went down hard, hitting his head.

Clark fell back, retching.

"Clark, Clark, stay with me."

He felt Lois' hands on him, checking him out. He managed to choke out the words.

"Meteor rock ..." he rasped. "I'm allergic."

Her face was almost a blur, but he could see her perplexed frown.

"Allergic?" she echoed.

"Lois, please ..."

She pulled him up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Lean on me," she said, walking awkwardly to the elevator. He felt her lean him against the wall of the car and he pressed his cheek to the cool metal. "Wait there," Lois said.

He felt her leave him for a few seconds, but she was back, clutching the flash drive.

As soon as they were above the lead shielded room, Clark felt his strength returning. Lois frowned at him.

"I could have sworn you ..."

"I'm fine."

"You weren't a few seconds ago."

"The room is lead shielded," he told her. "It blocks the effects of the meteor rock."

"How do you know that was meteor rock?" she asked.

He bit his lip, then shook his head.

"Now's not the time," he told her. "We need to get the sheriff in."

Perry was practically ecstatic when they accessed the files on the flash drive and learned that Earl Jenkins and Steven Hamilton had been going to blow the whistle on Project Ceres. The project, just as Lex had told them, had been to try to improve crop yields in harsh soil. It had been hoped it would help those in other countries to grow crops which would stand up against the harshest of environments.

However, the researchers had been using meteor rock. Since Hamilton had been studying it for years, he had more of a working knowledge of it than the scientists and knew the dangers, as well as its mutagenic effects. When he'd learned of his own terminal illness and that Earl Jenkins had been accidentally exposed during one of the experiments, he'd gone to Peterson hoping the man would back him up.

The problem with that was that Vargas had learned that Hamilton had been trying to blow the whistle on the project and had brought in an old friend to take care of it.

Clark was pleased that his story dominated the front page. As did Lois' in the Star. She had written hers from her own perspective, from the moment she'd tried to access the files to when Vargas had threatened her.

Lex, of course, had tried to cash in by saying he had no knowledge of what was really going on in the project and he was launching a full investigation into it. The application to the FDA had been withdrawn, pending the results of the investigation. It was typical, Clark thought, that his brother would once again come out smelling like roses. He recalled a phrase Lionel had once told him. Plausible deniability. Lex had made sure that no connection was made to him whatsoever.


	11. Chapter 11

The furore had barely begun to die down when Lois decided she had had enough of her boss' bullying tactics and handed in her notice. The very same day, she went to the Daily Planet.

Clark was in Perry White's office and it appeared they were discussing the recent takeover by the Wayne Foundation. Clark seemed relieved by the news.

"Of course, you know this means there's no free rides anymore, kid."

"I don't expect there to be Perry," Clark said as Lois entered. He looked at her, but didn't comment.

They hadn't even talked in the two weeks since the incident at the plant. Lois had picked up the phone several times in those two weeks thinking she should call him and see how he was, but had stopped herself each time. She was still curious about the whole meteor rock thing and how he could be allergic. From all the research she had uncovered about the substance itself, it changed people, or it had deadly long-term effects as in Dr Hamilton, who had died two days after their respective stories had come out. As far as she knew, it had never caused allergic reactions.

Perry smiled at her.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you at my door."

"I came to ask you ..."

"Heard all about it. Handed in your notice and told your boss what you thought of him. About time someone told that jackass the truth. I'll have to clear it with Mr Wayne, but I don't see a problem. Welcome aboard, honey."

"Thank you, Mr White. I can't tell you how much it means to me."

Clark stood up abruptly. "Uh, I should get out of your way, Perry."

The older man waved his hand almost dismissively.

"Fine, fine, kid, but don't forget I want five hundred words on the attempted buyout by Galaxy Communications."

"Yes sir."

Lois turned as Clark paused in the doorway, gazing at her. She wondered what he was going to say, but in the end he just turned away. Perry coughed.

"You want to tell me what that's all about?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"I can't help but notice the certain chill between you two. Now I know some people might take issue with the whole inter-office relationship thing, but not me. Unless, of course, it affects your work."

"Clark and I are both professionals," she told him. "We can behave ... professionally."

"Good, but let me give you some advice. Whatever it is, work it out. You seemed to have lit a fire under his butt and I'm counting on you to keep that fire burning. Which is why I'm partnering you up with him. Not full-time. Hell, we don't want too much of a good thing. Now, how soon can you come work for us?"

"A month," she told him. Her boss, or rather, former boss, had screamed and raged, but after she'd threatened to bring in a lawyer if he didn't let her go, he'd finally told her she could leave after a month. It had probably helped that the employee he'd been bullying had finally filed suit against him. The last thing he'd needed was another lawyer on his tail.

Lois made her way downstairs to Clark's office, intending to talk to him. There was a blonde at a desk, typing on the computer. She looked up.

"If you're looking for Clark, he's stepped out."

"Oh. Do you know when he'll be back?"

The woman, who Lois guessed was Clark's assistant, Claire, shrugged.

"Who knows with that man? I'm guessing you're Lois Lane."

"How did you know?"

"He's mentioned you," Claire commented.

Lois wondered just how much he'd mentioned her, but didn't ask.

"I hear you're coming to work for us."

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Because if anyone needs a good kick up the backside sometimes, it's Clark. Don't get me wrong. He's a good guy, but he needs someone to give him that extra push."

Lois talked with Claire a little more, finding herself liking the other woman. Claire seemed to be the type of woman who wasn't afraid of straight-talking and who definitely didn't hesitate to tell someone, ie Clark, when she thought they were acting like a brat.

XXXXX

Clark, meanwhile, had been called away to yet another tsunami threatening in the Pacific. He managed to take care of it quickly, but a scan of the ocean floor yielded some surprising results. He flew to Gotham to ask Bruce about it.

"What are you thinking?" his friend asked.

"That someone is somehow setting off these undersea tremors."

Bruce scratched his upper lip.

"You might be right. There have been rumours that Luthorcorp is developing some kind of coastal defence system which they've been testing in the Pacific. Unlike the colossal failure of Project Leviathan a few years ago, this one is purported to create a barrier of some kind. I don't know the full details, but I do have some contacts, or rather Lucius does, in the Navy."

Clark groaned quietly. Lex and his projects. His brother tended to take things to the extreme, without thought for the consequences.

"Thanks Bruce. Anything you could get for me would be great."

"What are you going to do? About Lex, I mean. We both know he was heavily involved with Project Ceres. Maybe he didn't order the murders, but it doesn't mean he didn't know about them."

"I know. I was planning on talking to him about it."

"Just be careful. I know he's your brother, Clark, but ..."

"I know, Bruce."

Clark flew back to Metropolis, learning that his brother was once again in Smallville, purportedly to clear up all the residual fallout from Project Ceres. Clark flew to the mansion, ignoring Raines' attempts to stop him.

"Your brother's on a phone conference. You can't just barge in whenever you ..."

Clark sent the man a glare and continued on to the study.

"Lex!"

His brother looked up, then turned back to the phone.

"We'll have to resume this at another time, Admiral," he said, pressing a button to disconnect the call. "Clark. To what do I owe the dubious pleasure?"

"I think you know."

"Let's see. Project Ceres? No, that one is done and dusted. Thanks to Superman and two nosy reporters." Lex sent him a glare, but didn't comment further.

"How about the one you're working on in the Pacific?"

Lex's expression was bland, but Clark caught the fury in his brother's eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Clark."

"Really. Still going with the plausible deniability? I know you're behind the recent tidal waves in the Pacific, Lex."

His brother stood up.

"Still can't help yourself, can you Clark? You're still on that crusade to show people just how much better you are than us."

"And you're still jealous."

"If you had just listened to Dad, we wouldn't be having this problem."

"Listen to a man who was so ruthless he didn't care about how many lives he ruined? Become a murderer like you?"

"Careful, Clark. You wouldn't want to go spreading around unfounded rumours."

"It's not a rumour. I know you had something to do with Lionel's death. One day I'll prove it."

"Well, let's hope that that day's a long time in coming."

Clark studied him. "Why, Lex? Why keep doing this?"

"You want to know why? Because Dad refused to give me what I wanted, what I needed from him, yet he lavished it all on you, hoping to mould you in his image."

"It was never a competition, Lex."

"Of course it wasn't. You were born to be the chosen one. That's why he wanted you. And denied me. You had everything and you never even wanted it. Especially your powers."

"That always killed you."

"No, what killed me is that you fought it. You hid from it. I would have taken it and relished it. Embraced it."

"Yeah, I get it. If you'd had my powers, you would have done more. And the world would be a very sorry place."

"I guess it's all a matter of perspective. You and I, Clark, we always had a destiny together. Except on different sides."

"And I'll always be there to stop you. Always."

"Well, no doubt you'll try," Lex smirked. "Is that all, Clark? Because I have companies to take over, secret labs to finance."

Sighing, Clark left. He'd hoped he'd somehow be able to get through to his brother just how dangerous a game he was playing.

One day, he vowed, the world would know the truth about his brother. Lex couldn't hide behind his money forever.

He returned home to find he had a visitor. He wanted to say something snarky but given the cold front he'd faced in Perry's office, he really didn't want to add to it.

"Hi," he said.

"We need to talk," Lois said.

He opened the door to his apartment and ushered her inside. She stepped into the living room, giving the snake an uneasy look, then sat as far away from the tank as she could get.

Clark stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not sure what to say or how to even broach the subject.

"Uh, I'm glad you decided to ..."

"I heard the Planet had an opening," she said.

"Yeah." He fidgeted nervously under her intense gaze.

"So, uh, Perry wants us to work together. Partner up. Not full-time, but ..."

He nodded. He'd overheard the conversation. He had to admit he had liked the little bit of competition he'd had going with her. Perry was right. Competing with her for the story had lit a fire in him and he wasn't about to let it die out.

"Anyway, I was thinking, um, since Perry wants us to work together, I figured we should talk about what happened. You know. A couple of weeks ago."

"In the plant?" he asked quietly, knowing she'd been curious about his 'allergy' to the meteor rock.

She chewed on her bottom lip.

"That ... and the fact that I kind of ran out of here. Um, see, I have this, uh, tightly wound bolt reflex and I guess I kind of got scared. I thought you were lying to me or keeping something from me and I used that as an excuse to run away. I mean, it's just, things had got so intense so quickly and I realised I was in love with you and it just ... it scared me."

He suddenly found the strength to approach her, sit beside her and take her in his arms.

"Lois, I love you too."

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He pushed her gently onto her back, his hands caressing her as he kissed her back with just as much passion.

She was out of breath by the time they parted. He watched as she rose unsteadily to her feet, clearly affected by what had just happened. She seemed to have forgotten the snake which shifted restlessly, almost as if it was watching them, judging them on their performance.

Lois fidgeted nervously.

"God, I wish you were a mirror," she sighed. Clark had the impression she had been rehearsing what she would say, clearly wanting to get it right.

She turned and looked at him, still a little tense. Still appearing uncertain.

"The thing is ..."

Clark rose from the couch, moving toward her, but still keeping a distance between them, not wanting to invade her space before she was ready.

"The thing is, you were right. I was keeping something from you, but it had nothing to do with the story. Well, partly."

She was silent, watching him, her hazel eyes unblinking. He bit his lip and turned away.

"You have to know, Lois, that there are lot of things about me that I can't ... I mean, all I've ever done is try to protect the people I love because I was afraid that if they knew the truth about me, they might get hurt. Or worse, they might reject me. Or like Lionel, they'd try to manipulate me, use me.

"When I met you, I don't know what it was. I mean, I've dated a lot of women, but I've never felt 'connected'. I've never felt like they truly understood me. But you ... you drove me crazy, but at the same time, you challenged me. For the first time in my life, I felt like I knew where I belonged.

"I can't keep lying to you about this because if there is ever a chance for us, then you need to know. To understand who and what I am."

He turned and looked at her, taking a deep breath.

"I'm Superman."

She froze for a second, looking up at him with a steady gaze, then nodded.

"I see."

Did she? he wondered.

The silence between them was awkward. Clark didn't know what to do or say and she certainly wasn't giving him any non-verbal clues. He stepped toward her and she pulled back.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Lois?"

"I'm sorry, Clark," she said again. He could only watch as she turned and walked out the door.

XXXXX

Lois sighed as she held the tiny baby in her arms. Jonas was now three weeks old and his skin had taken on a healthy look rather than the translucent quality he'd had when he'd first been born.

"That is not the sigh of an adoring aunt," Chloe said.

"I'm sorry. I just ..."

"Lo, what bothers you the most? The fact that he didn't tell you he was Superman when you first met or that you didn't figure it out first?"

Lois supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that Chloe knew the truth about Clark. After all, they were fairly close. They'd never dated but they were the best of friends.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you, Lois. When you are trying to figure someone out it's like you're a dog with a bone. You can't leave it alone. You just told me you'd been trying to figure out what was different about Clark from the moment you met."

"Why didn't he tell me who he was right from the start?"

"Put yourself in his place, Lois. I mean, really think about this. You're a refugee from another planet, sent here to be saved from your own planet's destruction and you're raised as the child of one of the richest men in Metropolis."

"Knowing Lionel, I'm guessing he would have done everything he could to mould Clark in his image."

"The fact that Clark resisted him at every turn pissed him off no end. Clark's biggest fear was that once he told someone who and what he was that they would try to manipulate him the same way Lionel always did."

"He told me. I would never have done that to him, Chloe."

"I think he knows that deep down, Lois, but still, fear is a pretty big stumbling block. You know why Lionel tried to manipulate him? Because he was afraid. Afraid of Clark's powers. Afraid of what Clark could do if he finally turned on him. The thing is, though, it's not in Clark's nature. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body."

Lois chewed on her bottom lip. The one thing she had never felt was fear. Not with Superman and definitely not with Clark. Okay, so he'd once accused her of being afraid of her own feelings for him, but that was another thing entirely.

"I guess the real question is, is love enough to get you through all your other reservations?"

"I don't know, Chloe. I mean, when I'm with him, I've never felt more alive. It's just ... you know what it was like with my dad. And then with Ollie. I don't want to be second best. I can't be left behind. Not again."

"Is that what you really think Clark would do? Let me tell you something about Clark Luthor. He has always kept his heart closely guarded. Not even Lana Lang could get through, but you ... I mean, the moment he started talking about you, even Ollie and I knew that something incredible had happened. It took a lot for him to tell you the truth."

"I know, but ..."

The baby began to fuss and Chloe took her son, rocking him gently on her shoulder.

"Listen to me for one second, okay? Clark has always felt alone, but he told Ollie that when he was with you ..."

"He felt like he belonged." She remembered almost every word he'd spoken. Lois felt tears prick her eyes. "Chlo, I've really screwed this up, haven't I?"

"Not yet, but if you let this go on, you really will screw it up. Go to him. Tell him."

Lois knew if she hesitated, she would lose him forever. She kissed her cousin on the cheek, then ran out of the apartment, frantically pressing the speed dial on her phone. His phone went unanswered. She ran down the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator, and out to the street, hailing a cab, ordering the man to take her to Clark's apartment.

The doorman shook his head at her.

"Mr Luthor isn't there, Miss Lane."

"Well, where is he?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

Biting her lip, Lois tapped her foot impatiently on the tiled floor, then dialled Chloe's apartment. Oliver answered.

"Where's Chloe?" she almost growled.

"Putting the baby down for his nap. What's up Legs?"

"Clark's not at his apartment. I don't know where he is."

"Have you tried calling him?" her friend asked.

She scowled. "What kind of question is that? Of course I've tried calling him. He's not answering his phone!"

"No, Lois, have you tried calling him?"

Her eyes widened as she realised exactly what Oliver was saying. A source had told her that Superman had a crow's nest above the city where he could watch and listen. She ran to Centennial Park where they'd strolled just two and a half weeks earlier.

"Help, Superman!" she screamed.

Not knowing if it would work, she could only watch in stunned silence as a caped figure descended just a few seconds later and landed beside her.

"Lois? Why did you call for me?"

"You wouldn't answer your phone," she said.

"I ... I don't keep it with me. It's not like I have pockets," he added, his expression more than a little sheepish as he looked down over the blue shirt of his uniform.

"Clark ..." she began, stepping forward. He nervously took a step back.

"Superman," he said.

"Clark," she said more firmly. "I'm sorry. For walking away the other day. You poured your heart out to me and it probably looked like I was rejecting you. I never meant to hurt you like that."

"Why did you?" he asked, the pain clear in his voice.

She felt a little disconcerted talking to him in his Superman persona. Lois had never been one for schoolgirl crushes, but for Superman, she would have come close.

"Clark ..." She sighed. "Is there somewhere else we can talk? I ... it's a little, um, weird, talking to you like this."

He looked down again at his uniform.

"This is who I am, Lois. I can't change that."

"No. Clark Luthor is who you are. Superman is just what you can do."

"Clark Luthor is just another disguise," he replied.

"Maybe, but he's also the man I fell in love with. Please," she begged, tears threatening. "I know I screwed this up, but I can't leave. Not now. I'm so completely in love with you that if I don't take a chance, I ..."

Clark seemed to make a decision, sweeping her up in his arms and flying with her into the air until he landed on what Lois realised was his crow's nest. He landed gently, pausing just a second to make sure she was okay, then disappeared.

He was back within two seconds, wearing a blue silk shirt and black pants, holding out a single rose. She smiled and took it.

"Lois ..."

"Clark, let me say this first, okay? I shouldn't have walked out the other night, but I ... look, you know what I told you about my dad. And Ollie. When you told me you were Superman I was just so overwhelmed and I just didn't know what to say. I know it looked like I was rejecting you, but it wasn't that."

She looked up at him with a steady gaze.

"I knew there was something different about you. Something I couldn't quite understand. I began to have my suspicions when you told me you were allergic to the meteor rock. I mean, every bit of research I did on those who were changed by the meteors told me that an allergic reaction wasn't a normal reaction.

"But you being Superman was something that never even occurred to me. Not really."

"Lois ..."

"I know," she said. "I ended things with Ollie when I found out he was Green Arrow because I knew his work would always come first. I didn't want to come second. But I thought about this, with you. I mean, I've thought of nothing else the past few days. Maybe you do have a destiny that's bigger than both of us, but maybe there's a way we can have both. I mean, why does it have to be one or the other?"

He'd been trying to get a word in edgewise, but she'd just talked over him, knowing if she didn't get to say what she needed to say, there was a good chance she might never get the opportunity again.

She was shocked into silence when his lips closed over hers. She felt his strong arms around her. Lois melted into his embrace, closing her eyes, feeling the love in the gentle way he held her, the passion in his kiss.

He pulled away, grinning down at her.

"Well, if I'd known that was how to get you to stop talking, I would have done that ages ago," he said.

Lois growled and punched him in the shoulder.

"You are a very bad man, Clark Luthor."

"But you love me anyway," he replied.

She kissed him again.

"I do." She looked slyly at him. "Even if you are trouble."

"I think that's my line, Lane."


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

Clark had got into the habit of leaving his uniforms at Watchtower, knowing a certain person got into everything and seemed to have no filter when it came to secrets. They'd already almost blabbed to the world that their cousin knew Green Arrow.

He had been called away on a rescue mission which had taken a couple of hours and had showered and changed at Watchtower before heading home. As he opened the door, he was set upon by two little blurs.

"Daddy!"

"You're home," another little voice squeaked.

He looked down. Three year old Eric was wrapped around one leg, while five year old Kristin had tried to wrap herself around the other leg. He bent and picked up his son, chuckling as he tried to walk with his daughter still wrapped around him.

"Hey, give your father a break," Lois gently scolded the children.

Clark grinned and kissed his wife.

"What's for dinner?" he asked cheekily.

"I wouldn't know," she responded tartly. "You haven't cooked it yet."

He laughed. Lois had confessed a long time ago that she wasn't the best cook. When they'd moved in together before getting married, they had divvied up the household chores. Cleaning wasn't exactly one of Lois' favourite things to do either, but at least she wasn't burning the house down.

Clark somehow managed to get into the living room and sit down on the couch without incident. Eric was curled up in his arms, sleepily sucking his thumb. Kristin wanted to show him what she'd done in school that day and he dutifully admired her work.

After dinner, the two children curled up in his lap, not even giving their mother room to sit, but she didn't appear to mind. She sat with the television remote in her hand, watching a program on monster trucks.

Both children yawned loudly.

"Sounds like it's time for bed," Lois commented.

"Aw Mom," Kristin complained.

"Nope. Go get ready for bed." Lois was always firm with her children. Firm but fair.

"Can Daddy come read me a story?" Kristin asked, looking slyly at her father.

"I'll come read to you once I've got Eric in bed," he promised. He picked up his sleepy son and carried him to the bathroom, helping him brush his teeth and wash before dressing him in pyjamas and making sure his diaper was fresh. They'd recently designed 'superhero' diapers for toddlers still going through toilet training and Eric loved them.

By the time he'd got his son into bed, the three year old was already half asleep and didn't need a story. Lois came in and kissed their baby goodnight, looking up at her husband with a look in her eyes which promised more as soon as the children were asleep.

Kristin wasn't nearly as co-operative.

"Tell me a story about Green Arrow, Daddy," she demanded.

"You know all about Green Arrow."

She'd almost told Perry when she'd learned that her favourite uncle was a superhero. Fortunately, they'd managed to stop her from blabbing it out. One year, when Kristin had been about two, she'd somehow got into their closet and almost found Clark's uniforms behind the secret panel and that was when Lois had suggested he should perhaps leave his uniforms at Watchtower. At least until the children were old enough to understand about keeping secrets.

Clark ended up telling his daughter about how he'd met Green Arrow, thinking he was just another thief. Of course, he'd been surprised when the emerald archer had turned out to be his best friend, but he didn't tell his daughter any of that.

"Tell me about how you and Mommy met," she said, still demanding.

"Hmm, well, I knew about your mom a long time before I actually met her. You know she used to go out with your uncle Ollie."

"I know Daddy. Tell me about the party you went to."

"Well, there I was, at this party, with a girl I barely even remember. That's when I saw your mom and she was easily the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen."

"What happened then, Daddy?"

"Your mom was working for a different paper then and we were both working on the same story."

"And then you and Mommy fell in love and got married and had me. And Eric," she added as an afterthought, wrinkling her nose. She was at that age when little brothers were nothing but a nuisance.

"And you and your Mom and Eric are the best things that ever happened to me," he said, holding his beloved daughter close.

"Sing that song, Daddy," she said sleepily.

"What song, baby?"

"You know. The one Grandma used to sing to you when you were sad."

Oh, that one. Sometime he wished he'd never told Lois about it, because it was a silly song but still, it did make them laugh. So he sang it. Kristin added the 'hey' at the end. She joined in on the rest of the chorus, making them both laugh.  
_  
_She curled in his arms, pressing her little nose against his and scrunched it, pretending to be a rabbit._  
_

"Good night little bunny," he told her.

"I'm not a bunny, I'm a rabbit," she corrected.

"My mistake." He kissed her forehead and pulled back the covers so she could get into bed.

"I love you Daddy."

"Love you too, baby."

Lois crept in and sat beside him, giving their daughter one final cuddle and kiss goodnight.

"Love you Mommy."

"Love you too, sweetheart. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"That's okay. They don't get me, and Superman will growl at them if they try."

"Yes, he would," Clark told her, suppressing a chuckle.

Lois took his hand and they rose, tiptoeing out of the room as their baby curled up. She pulled him back into the living room and made him sit on the couch, where she promptly sat on his lap.

"Hey you," she said.

"Hi," he murmured, pulling her close and burying his face in her hair.

"So, I was listening to what you were telling her in there."

He knew that, but he wasn't about to mention it.

"I was telling the truth you know. You really were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. You still are."

She grinned slyly and kissed him, undoing the top buttons of his shirt.

"Flattery, my darling, will get you everywhere."

"Really? So, if I suggested we go to bed early and have a little 'playtime' of our own, you wouldn't object?"

"Hmm, nope, I don't think I would," she replied, continuing to slowly undress him.

As the couple became lost in each other, another pair of eyes watched. The snake, once called Lois, but had been dubbed Xena by its namesake, took in the kissing couple on the couch, the series of photographs on the wall depicting the couple at their wedding, and Lois with her stomach swollen in pregnancy, the two children who seemed to be miniature versions of their parents, and finally the two of them with Perry White when they'd won an award for excellence in journalism.

Hissing slightly, the snake settled down, returning to watch the couple in their passionate embrace, seemingly blissfully unaware of their audience. Humans, it thought.

THE END


End file.
